HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Helena's preserved 1870s miners' alley, where the Stonehouse keeps the lore of Laura and her canaries
101 Reeders Alley, Helena, MT 59601
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
No fee to walk the public alley and exterior grounds. The buildings now house offices and nonprofits, including Visit Helena.
Access
Limited Access
Narrow brick-and-stone alley on a slope at the base of Mount Helena; uneven historic paving
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1870 · National Register Historic District · Montana Gold Rush · Preserved Miners' Housing · The Stonehouse
Reeder's Alley dates to the 1870s, when Helena was a booming gold camp built around the strike at Last Chance Gulch. The narrow brick-and-stone buildings provided housing and shops for the single miners, muleskinners, and tradesmen who worked the diggings, and the surrounding district included Helena's red-light businesses.
At the top of the alley stands the Stonehouse, a substantial stone building that became the long-term home of George and Laura Duchesnay. Laura Duchesnay, French-born and remembered as a gentle woman who nursed injured birds and kept yellow canaries, lived in the Stonehouse from the 1910s until her death in 1933. George remained there until his own death in 1940. During Prohibition the Stonehouse also served as a clandestine moonshine cache, with buyers reportedly posing as customers for Laura's birds.
The alley survived where most of frontier Helena was lost to fire and redevelopment. The Montana Heritage Commission has owned the properties since December 2000, and the district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The buildings now house a caterer, offices, nonprofit organizations, and the Visit Helena visitor center, while the Stonehouse has at times operated as a restaurant.
Sources
Reeder's Alley's hauntings center on the Stonehouse and on Laura Duchesnay, who lived there until her death in 1933. After the building was converted into a restaurant, staff and guests began reporting a cluster of recurring phenomena that local accounts tie back to Laura and the birds she cared for.
The reports include a disembodied sneeze or cough with no visible source, a child's laughter, and a black shadow moving along the corridor. The most distinctive account is auditory: the chirping and the rushing of wings, as if a flock of canaries were in the room, with no birds anywhere to be seen. Because Laura was known for nursing injured birds and keeping yellow canaries, the sounds are interpreted locally as an echo of her menagerie.
These accounts are folklore drawn from staff and visitor experiences rather than documented events. Laura is remembered fondly in the telling, a gentle presence rather than a frightening one, which sets Reeder's Alley apart from Helena's darker hauntings.
Notable Entities
Reeder's Alley is a publicly accessible National Register historic district preserving one of Helena's oldest streetscapes. Walk the narrow alley past the 1870s miners' housing and up to the Stonehouse at the top. The buildings now hold offices, nonprofits, and the Visit Helena center; interiors are accessible during business hours and events.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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