Big Timber, Montana
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the South of the Yellowstone census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59011. It stands on Pig Creek. The Survey maps it on the Big Timber quadrangle. 1,650 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,091 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Big Timber
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 5 records
Big Timber Town Halllisted 1998
Carnegie Public Librarylisted 2002
Grand Hotellisted 1985
St. Mark's Episcopal Churchlisted 1995- John Otto Spannring Family Farmlisted 1995
Population over time
2 figuresBig Timber grew from 1,641 to 1,650 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,641 | |
| 2020 | 1,650 | +9 (+1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1891 USGS Big Timber quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Big Timber quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1954 USGS Big Timber quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Billings quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS Billings quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Billings quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1979 USGS Big Timber quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
21 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 21 fires within 5 miles of Big Timber between 2000 and 2020, burning about 114 acres in total. 4 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sweet Grass County | I90 MM 367 |
| 4 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sweet Grass County | FEATHERBED RD |
| 4 August 2020 | Natural | 2.0 acres | Sweet Grass County | AIRPORT |
| 4 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Sweet Grass County | 4 MAIN BOULDER ROAD |
| 24 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Sweet Grass County | I-90 MM 367 |
| 2 August 2014 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.5 acres | Custer Gallatin National Forest | HORSE |
| 13 August 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sweet Grass County | 16 MCLEOD ST |
| 4 July 2017 | Fireworks | under an acre | Southern Land Office | BUSHA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Big Timber: 1 prospect, 1 unknown, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Nickel, Platinum. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whittaker Property | Nickel, Platinum | Prospect | ||
| Unnamed Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 63 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Big Timber in 63 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 50 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Timber | $500,000 | Many trees and powerlines down north, east and south of Big Timber. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Timber | - | Mesonet station gw0007 near Big Timber. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Big Timber | - | Hail report. |
| July 2022 | Flood | Big Timber | - | Minor street flooding reported by broadcast media. |
| June 2013 | Funnel Cloud | Big Timber | - | A funnel cloud was reported over the Big Timber Airport. |
| June 2013 | Flash Flood | Big Timber | - | A mudslide was reported just north of Big Timber on Highway 191. There were additional reports of flash flooding from Big Timber to Melville. |
| August 2013 | Hail | Big Timber | - | The winds were estimated at 60 mph. The hail and wind combination broke skylights and windows. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Big Timber | - | Damage from hail resulted in windows being knocked out of a two-story house, as well as a broken vehicle windshield. |
| May 2007 | Hail | Big Timber | - | Soft hail with heavy rain and light winds were reported. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Timber | - | 3 inch diameter Willow branches down. 30 foot dead Cottonwood tree also knocked down. |
| May 2005 | Heavy Rain | Big Timber | - | 2.80 inches of rain 6S Big Timber (24-hour total) |
| August 1999 | Hail | Big Timber | - | Spotter report of dime size hail. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Big Timber | - | Cars were dented, windshields broken, and house windows broken by golf ball size hail. |
| July 2022 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| September 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| September 2010 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| September 2010 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| May 2000 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Timber | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourdough | 8.8 miles | 15 | |
| Wormser (historical) | 10.1 miles | 18 | |
| Carney | 10.1 miles | 16 | |
| Greycliff | 10.3 miles | 16 | |
| McLeod | 14.6 miles | 19 | |
| Sioux Crossing | 15.5 miles | 17 | |
| Quebec | 17.4 miles | 16 | |
| Melville | 18.5 miles | 11 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Big Timber | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q859439 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 802032. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






