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B+History
History · Big Timber

Big Timber’s post office opened in 1880, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first post office
4on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Big Timber’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Big Timber began

When was Big Timber founded?

1880

The Big Timber post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 100 in 18802020 census: 1,650146 years

How historic is Big Timber?

B+

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Big Timber post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Big Timber’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Big Timber is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Big Timber’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194030.7% of homes (±8.3) · typical MT town 13.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 5 historic buildings, 31.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MT town 12.7 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
NewerOlder

Montana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Montana town has 12.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Big Timber’s 31.0 sits above most of its state (68% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Big Timber’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1891 to 1921, drew every building in Big Timber.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Timber’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Timber’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewVoges Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone Rive…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Big Timber, building by building, 1891–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Big Timber fire insurance map, 1891, sheet 11891Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Big Timber

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Grand Hotel
Grand HotelSt. Mark's Episcopal Church, built 1896Big Timber Town Hall, built 1909Carnegie Public Library, built 1913
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Gothic1
Western Commercial1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals1
Neoclassical1
Grand HotelBuilding
St. Mark's Episcopal ChurchLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals · Built 1896
Big Timber Town HallWestern Commercial · Built 1909
Carnegie Public LibraryLate 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals · Built 1913

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story so far

Big Timber, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Big Timber yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Big Timber is a city in and the county seat of Sweet Grass County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 census. Big Timber takes its name from Big Timber Creek, which was named by William Clark because of the large cottonwood trees. The post office was established in 1880, closed, then reopened in 1882 with Ella Burns as postmaster. In 1881 Charles McDonnell became the first person to drive sheep into Sweet Grass County and Big Timber. As a stop on the Northern Pacific Railroad, Big Timber became a major wool-shipping depot. It became the county seat in 1895. In 1902, rancher John F. Asbury was elected the first mayor of Big Timber. A fire in 1908 destroyed half the …

Its first post office opened in 1880. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,641 in 2010, 1,650 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Big Timber, 1880 to 1965

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Big Timber post office opens
  3. 1896BuiltSt. Mark's Episcopal Church is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909BuiltBig Timber Town Hall is built
  6. 1913BuiltCarnegie Public Library is built
  7. 1918Born hereOrvin B. Fjare is born here
  8. 1943Born hereJudy Martz is born here
  9. 1944Born hereGary Branae is born here
  10. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1965Born hereLindsay Burns is born here
By decade

Big Timber, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Voges Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone River at Grey Bear RoadDate?Voges Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone River at Grey Bear…
Today11 recent
A classic, almost movie set-like, western scene near Big Timber, Montana2022A classic, almost movie set-like, western scene near …Saint Joseph Catholic Church in2022Saint Joseph Catholic Church inBig Timber, Montana2021Big Timber, MontanaThe bar at the Grand Hotel2018The bar at the Grand HotelCrazy Mountains2018Crazy MountainsBig Timber Montana Town Hall 022015Big Timber Montana Town Hall 02Big Timber Montana Town Hall 012015Big Timber Montana Town Hall 01Wea03328 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library2010Wea03328 - Flickr - NOAA Photo LibraryGRAND HOTEL2007GRAND HOTELWea03326 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library2006Wea03326 - Flickr - NOAA Photo LibraryMTMap-doton-BigTimber2005MTMap-doton-BigTimber
On the map

Big Timber on the map, 1954 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Big Timber. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Big Timber on the 1954 USGS mapBig Timber on the 1981 USGS map1954Big Timber sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Big Timber.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Voges Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone River at Grey Bear Road
Retake this viewVoges Bridge, Spanning Yellowstone River at Grey Bear Road

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Big Timber’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Big Timber, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,690

Between 100 and 1,690 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Big Timber’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Big Timber

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Judy MartzAmerican speed skater and politician · b. 1943
L
Lindsay BurnsAmerican rower · b. 1965
Orvin B. FjareAmerican politician · b. 1918
G
Gary BranaeMontana legislator · b. 1944
Places that used to be

Old corners

Big Timber’s post office has been open since 1880.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Duffy Trailer Court

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Big Timber’s history

What year was Big Timber founded?

The Big Timber post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Big Timber rank for history?

Big Timber is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Big Timber?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Grand Hotel (listed 1985, the first). 5 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Big Timber?

31% of Big Timber’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.3 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1965.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.