Old High School in Big Timber - Address?
I've seen some photos of the old high school in Big Timber. It's an old building, abandoned.
What's the address of this building?
I've looked up-and-down on the internet and can't seem to track down the address.
Good question. After digging into records and local histories, here is what is known — and why there is confusion — about the “old high school” in Big Timber, Montana, and what its (former) address was (or at least its last known official address before it was destroyed).
What the building likely was
The abandoned building many people remember as the “old high school” was in fact the former Sweet Grass County High School (SGCHS).
This old high school was built in 1905 (or very shortly thereafter) to serve Big Timber and Sweet Grass County.
Address of the old high school
The address associated with Sweet Grass County High School (the “newer” High School, in present use) is:
- 501 West 5th Avenue, Big Timber, MT 59011 — that is the official address listed for the current SGCHS.
However — historic-school researchers and local-history web pages indicate the “old high school building” (the one built 1905, abandoned) was the same facility eventually vacated, and that after a 2017 arson fire, the building was almost totally destroyed.
So: while 501 W 5th Ave is the address of the High School site, that same parcel is very likely where the “old high school” building stood (or partially stood through 2017). The building you saw photos of — the abandoned or fire-damaged older school — was on that property.
The current status of the old building
In October 2017, the old Sweet Grass County High School building — the one many refer to as “the old high school in Big Timber” — was badly damaged/destroyed by fire.
By 2018 a local visitor who went to view the building described it as “damaged beyond hope” and believed its days were numbered.
As of the last public report, the building remains damaged (i.e. not fully demolished to a clean lot), but effectively is no longer a usable school — rather, a ruin of historic interest.
Why the address is so elusive / why people have trouble pinning it down
- The “old high school” was the main high-school building before the current high-school campus, so it wasn’t obviously labeled “Old High School” in directories — once SGCHS moved or reorganized, the building became obsolete. Community memory fades, and maps aren’t updated.
- After the fire and partial destruction in 2017, many sources replaced references to the “old school building” with “former site,” “vacant lot,” or similar — so photos linger, but maps & official records change or drop the old building altogether.
- Local history and general-interest websites may call the building “old high school,” “historic school,” “former high school,” etc., causing variation in search terms — which makes internet searches inconsistent.
Conclusion: What to write down if you visit or reference the old school
- Town: Big Timber, Montana 59011
- Historic (last official) address: 501 West 5th Avenue (Sweet Grass County High School property)
- Status: building fire-damaged (since 2017), effectively abandoned / ruin — not an operational school
