Brannin Ranch

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

From the record

One of 8 National Register listings published here for Sweet Grass County · listed in 1989 · category: District.

Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. W of Melville on Sweet Grass Creek, Melville, 59011
When was it listed? January 1989
Category. district
Census division. North of the Yellowstone
National Register reference number. 88003142 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

12 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Brannin Ranch between 1993 and 2013, burning about 17,963 acres in total. 9 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
Natural	9
Recreation and ceremony	3

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
7 September 1998	Natural	under an acre	Custer Gallatin National Forest	EAGLE CR.
5 September 2013	Natural	under an acre	Custer Gallatin National Forest	SWEETGRASS
4 September 2005	Natural	1.2 acres	Custer Gallatin National Forest	DRY CREEK
17 September 2000	Natural	under an acre	Custer Gallatin National Forest	BOUNDARY
9 August 2011	Natural	under an acre	Custer Gallatin National Forest	EAGLE PARK
8 August 2000	Natural	2.0 acres	Custer Gallatin National Forest	DRY CREEK
5 August 2008	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Custer Gallatin National Forest	MILLY
3 August 2008	Natural	5.0 acres	Custer Gallatin National Forest	MINERS CREEK

Every fire recorded in Sweet Grass County

Storms near this property

51 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Melville, the town this property stands in, in 51 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 36 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 3 heavy rain. 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
May 2011	Flood	Melville	$4,000,000	Significant flooding occurred on creeks and streams across Sweet Grass County resulting in widespread lowland flooding and numerous county roads flooded, closing roads and resulting in significant damage. Numerous bridges also washed out. Specifically, Upper Deer, Lower Deer, Bridger, Sweet Grass, Big Timber and Otter Creeks Flooded. Specific roads flooded include; Anderson, Lower Sweet Grass, Mendinhaul, and Windsor Loop. At the height of the flooding, water was overtopping Interstate 90 from Mile Post 376 to 377. Damage estimates based on FEMA reviews and Individual Assistance approvals.
June 2025	Hail	Melville	-	One and a quarter inch hail reported.
June 2014	Hail	Melville	-	Hail accumulated to 2 inches on the ground and was accompanied by 40 to 50 mph winds.
March 2014	Flood	Melville	-	County officials and the Montana Department of Transportation reported that small stream and low land flooding occurred across the area. Water was reported to be flowing over Highway 12 near Two Dot and Highway 191 between Harlowton and Judith Gap. Water also flowed across some of the roads along the Beartooth Foothills south of Reed Point and Columbus.
September 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Melville	-	A wind gust of 60 mph was estimated 20 miles northeast of Big Timber.
September 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Melville	-	A wind gust of 70 mph was estimated 12 miles west/northwest of Rapelje.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Melville	-	An estimated wind gust of 65 mph was reported 12 miles WNW of Rapelje.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Melville	-	An estimated thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph was estimated 11 miles north of Big Timber.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Melville	-	An estimated wind gust of 60 mph was reported 11 miles north of Big Timber.
July 2010	Hail	Melville	-	Hail size ranged from peas to nickels to quarters.
May 2005	Heavy Rain	Melville	-	1.40 inches of rain 4W Melville (24-hour total)
May 2005	Heavy Rain	Melville	-	2.87 inches of rain 4W Melville (24-hour total)
May 2005	Heavy Rain	Melville	-	1.10 inches of rain in 12 hours
June 2004	Flash Flood	Melville	-	Flash flooding was observed on Otter Creek between 5 pm and 7pm with some damage to fences and bridges. Some flooding was also observed on Sweet Grass Creek.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Melville	-	no account filed
May 2020	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
August 2019	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
August 2019	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2019	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Melville	-	no account filed
August 2019	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
August 2019	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
August 2019	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
May 2018	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2013	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2013	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2013	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
September 2013	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2013	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2013	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2011	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2011	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
May 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
September 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2010	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2007	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2006	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2005	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2001	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
July 2001	Hail	Melville	-	no account filed
January 1997	Flood	Melville	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Sweet Grass County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 88003142 in Record Group 79.
Sweet Grass County	All 8 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
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.
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.