LOCKEY, RICHARD

Richard Lockey was born in Yorkshire, England, on June 11, 1845, the son of John and Mary Raw Lockey. In 1846 the family moved to a farm near Dubuque, Iowa. Richard worked briefly in the lead mines at Dubuque before joining the Union Army in 1862. After the war he travelled to Montana, arriving in Helena in July 1866. He worked on the construction of the Truitt and Plaisted Ditch, around the base of Mt. Helena, briefly read law, and then went to work in C.W. Cannon's grocery store. In 1871 he formed his own business, the Montana Steam Cracker Company, which supplied local trade, including matzos for the Jewish Passover, and provided "hard tack" for the Army and several Indian reservations. By 1876 the bakery, which operated under a variety of names, had established a branch store in Bozeman. The two businesses were run by Lockey and his two brothers John W. Lockey and George W. "Will" Lockey. In September 1881, Lockey leased his Helena store to William H. Ulm, while his brothers continued to operate the Bozeman store. Will died in October 1882, but John continued the name Lockey Brothers for his business until its closure in 1887. Richard Lockey established Lockey's Land Agency in Helena c.1880 as a real estate business. He quickly expanded his agency to include insurance, abstracts, and loans. During the late 1880s the business operated as the partnership Lockey, Matheson and Douglas (with Walter Matheson and Samuel R. Douglas), and then in the 1890s became the Lockey Investment Company. Lockey developed numerous real estate properties around Helena, including the Lockey Addition, and several buildings along Sixth Avenue in the Helena Townsite. As a partner with Peter Winne in the Denver and Helena Investment Company, he arranged for the donation of the site for the Montana State Capitol in 1895. He also helped develop the Ore-or-no-go claims in the Wallace, Idaho, area. These claims eventually became the subject of a lawsuit between Lockey and William R. Wallace. In addition to his business interests Richard Lockey was active in numerous fraternal orders, including the Albion Lodge of the Order Sons of St. George, the Scottish Rite Masons, the Knights Templar, and the Odd Fellows. He served on the board of Montana Wesleyan University in Helena and was a Republican member of the 1893 Montana Legislature. On June 5, 1870 Richard married Emily E. Jeffrey. Two of their children Mary Ishbel Lockey and Richard Lockey, Jr. were active in their father's real estate business during the 1910s. In addition Mary Lockey established the Castillejo School in Palo Alto, California, in 1906, and served as its president for many years. Richard Lockey died December 17, 1924.

From the guide to the Richard Lockey Papers, 1862-1924, (Montana Historical Society Archives)