Helena was formally established in 1890 and according to local history, the source of the name has been lost. Undoubtedly, it was named for a wife, daughter, sister or mother of a prominent local citizen, likely with ties to the railroad. These historic storefronts are the “downtown” area, located along busy US Highway 341.
Helena has always been a bedroom community of McRae, about a mile east of here, but in 2015, the two cities merged to consolidate services that were becoming too expensive for Helena to manage. Officially, it’s now known as Helena-McRae.
My grandma used to have a flea market in the 2 story building back in the late 80s all the way to to the mid to late 90s. I’m suprized it’s still there.