The Iron Mountain Baby

​n 1902, William Helms, a 72-year-old Civil War veteran, stopped to water his horse under a railroad bridge near Irondale, in Concord Township, Missouri. As he was waiting, he heard a faint cry, and looking around in the marsh, he found a small cardboard suitcase, and to his astonishment, it contained a tiny baby and neatly folded clothes.
William hurried home to his elderly wife, Sara Jane, who nursed the infant back to health. They guessed he was approximately five days old. His head had been dented by the 50-foot fall from the railroad bridge, but otherwise, he was in reasonable health. They named him William Moses Helms.

Newspapers published photographs of the baby and his 14“ x 6“ x 5“ suitcase in an attempt to locate the parents and to identify the scoundrel who had thrown the baby from the train. The ballad “Iron Mountain Baby” was published as part of this campaign. Here’s the link to the original song.

The publicity brought forth many women claiming to be the grieving mother, but after six years, the Helms had come to love little Willy, so they decided they wouldn’t be able to give him away. They adopted him.

William Moses Helms went to the local high school, then on to college. He married and moved to Texas, where he had a family. When he died in Texas in 1953, his body was returned by railcar to a cemetery two miles from where he had been found as a baby. It was only the second time he had ridden the railroad in his life.

In 2013, Edie Brickell and Steve Martin wrote a lovely song, “Sarah Jane, and the Iron Mountain Baby.“  Here's a link to the story of the creation of the song and a performance 
This story also served as the inspiration for one of my favorite musicals, “Bright Star,” also by Brickell and Martin.

Bringing this story full circle, my youngest daughter, Lucy, starred in the musical as Sarah Jane, the forlorn momma of the Iron Mountain Baby.