HELENA — A piece of Helena history has disappeared from the city’s oldest cemetery after historic wrought iron gates were stolen from the entrance to Home of Peace Cemetery.
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Helena resident Lynn Estes, who has walked at the cemetery nearly every day for the past five years, discovered the gates were missing on Oct. 28.
“I mean, at one point I just cried, you know?” Estes said. “It’s just really sad that somebody would take them.”
The large decorative gates had been removed from their hinges sometime after Estes’ walk late in the afternoon of Oct. 27.
“Gosh, we just gotta go find ’em,” Estes said.
Home of Peace Cemetery board member Martha Kohl said removing the gates would not have been an easy task.
“They’re heavy, the ones in the middle, so probably would take two people to do something like that,” Kohl said.
The gates were more than just an entrance to the cemetery.
Home of Peace was established in 1867 and is Montana’s oldest Jewish cemetery. A three-part arched granite entrance was installed around 1908, and the wrought iron gates are believed to have been installed around the same time. Both the entrance and the cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“They violated a sacred space, and they stole a piece of Montana history,” Kohl said. “I’m just appalled. This is a really important place. All cemeteries are sacred. People’s loved ones are buried here.”
According to the Montana Historical Society, the cemetery serves as an important reminder of Helena’s early Jewish community. Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe came to Montana during the first gold rushes, with many eventually settling in Helena during the 1860s and 1870s. They became part of the city’s early business and civic community.
“There are many Helenans of note buried here,” Kohl said. “People who were important in business, people who were important in politics, in law, and just ordinary people too.”
There are about 240 recorded burials at Home of Peace, with 204 marked by tombstones. According to the Montana Historical Society, the oldest headstone dates to 1870, while the cemetery’s first 10 graves are unmarked and lie outside the modern fence.
The cemetery remains active today, with its most recent burial taking place in 2026.
For Estes, walking among those graves has helped her appreciate a community she has called home for 11 years.
“I’ve only been here 11 years, but I’ve come to really love and appreciate Helena and places like this,” Estes said. “Please bring them back.”
While replacement gates could be made, Kohl said a replica could not carry the history of the originals.
“That’s not the same as the ones that have been in use for over a hundred years, been touched by all of those hands,” Kohl said.
A police report has been filed, and the Home of Peace Cemetery board is offering a reward for the return of the gates.
Kohl said ultimately, she just wants to see the originals returned to where they belong.
“I would be so grateful. It would restore a little faith,” Kohl said. “Right now, I’m just genuinely heartbroken.”
Anyone with information about the missing gates is asked to contact the Helena Police Department.
