BlockBefore

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

Big Timber within Sweet Grass County

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

Population over time

2 figures

Big 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,641
20201,650+9 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 16 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

21 since 2000

Regional 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/undetermined13
Natural4
Debris and open burning1
Equipment and vehicle use1
Fireworks1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSweet Grass CountyI90 MM 367
4 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSweet Grass CountyFEATHERBED RD
4 August 2020Natural2.0 acresSweet Grass CountyAIRPORT
4 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresSweet Grass County4 MAIN BOULDER ROAD
24 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSweet Grass CountyI-90 MM 367
2 August 2014Misuse of fire by a minor1.5 acresCuster Gallatin National ForestHORSE
13 August 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSweet Grass County16 MCLEOD ST
4 July 2017Fireworksunder an acreSouthern Land OfficeBUSHA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Sweet Grass County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Whittaker PropertyNickel, PlatinumProspect
Unnamed Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unnamed Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Sweet Grass County

Storms near this place

60 of 63 shown

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 1994Thunderstorm WindBig Timber$500,000Many trees and powerlines down north, east and south of Big Timber.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindBig Timber-Mesonet station gw0007 near Big Timber.
June 2025HailBig Timber-Hail report.
July 2022FloodBig Timber-Minor street flooding reported by broadcast media.
June 2013Funnel CloudBig Timber-A funnel cloud was reported over the Big Timber Airport.
June 2013Flash FloodBig 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 2013HailBig Timber-The winds were estimated at 60 mph. The hail and wind combination broke skylights and windows.
June 2010HailBig Timber-Damage from hail resulted in windows being knocked out of a two-story house, as well as a broken vehicle windshield.
May 2007HailBig Timber-Soft hail with heavy rain and light winds were reported.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBig Timber-3 inch diameter Willow branches down. 30 foot dead Cottonwood tree also knocked down.
May 2005Heavy RainBig Timber-2.80 inches of rain 6S Big Timber (24-hour total)
August 1999HailBig Timber-Spotter report of dime size hail.
July 1995HailBig Timber-Cars were dented, windshields broken, and house windows broken by golf ball size hail.
July 2022HailBig Timber-no account filed
September 2022Thunderstorm WindBig Timber-no account filed
August 2019HailBig Timber-no account filed
August 2019HailBig Timber-no account filed
August 2019HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2018HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2016HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2016HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2016HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2016HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2016HailBig Timber-no account filed
May 2014HailBig Timber-no account filed
May 2014HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2013HailBig Timber-no account filed
August 2013HailBig Timber-no account filed
August 2013HailBig Timber-no account filed
August 2013HailBig Timber-no account filed
August 2013HailBig Timber-no account filed
August 2013HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2011HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2011HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2011HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2011HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2010HailBig Timber-no account filed
September 2010HailBig Timber-no account filed
September 2010HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2010HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2010HailBig Timber-no account filed
August 2009HailBig Timber-no account filed
May 2007HailBig Timber-no account filed
May 2007HailBig Timber-no account filed
May 2007HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2007HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2007HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2007HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindBig Timber-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindBig Timber-no account filed
June 2005HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2005HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2005HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2004HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2004HailBig Timber-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindBig Timber-no account filed
May 2000HailBig Timber-no account filed
May 2000HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 2000HailBig Timber-no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindBig Timber-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Sweet Grass County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Sourdough8.8 miles15
Wormser (historical)10.1 miles18
Carney10.1 miles16
Greycliff10.3 miles16
McLeod14.6 miles19
Sioux Crossing15.5 miles17
Quebec17.4 miles16
Melville18.5 miles11

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 TimberAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q859439The 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.