Ballantine

History

Ballantine was founded on land that had been part of the Crow Indian Reservation. In 1896, the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad established Ballantine as a station, named for homesteader E. P. Ballantine. By 1907 the town had a post office and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad had taken over rail operations. It was in 1907 that Ballantine became part of a federally funded irrigation district, the Huntley Project. Irrigation slowly changed the sagebrush landscape into farms growing sugar beets, alfalfa, and other crops. The population grew slowly and included many European immigrants. Both Catholic and Lutheran religious services were held here, and a Congregational Church was built. The Anita Dam and Reservoir project, about six miles southeast of Ballantine, was completed in 1937 by Civilian Conservation Corps workers.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land. Ballantine is located near Interstate 94, approximately thirty miles east of Billings. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Ballantine has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Ballantine was on July 5, 1936, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 15, 1936. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  165
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  142
• Yellow Warbler

  Setophaga petechia (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  130
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  127
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  125
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  122
• House Wren

  Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, 1809 · Aves
  121
• Brown-belted Bumble Bee

  Bombus griseocollis (De Geer, 1773) · Insecta
  110

Most recent

• M 3 — 2026-06-02
  18 km WSW of Colstrip, Montana
• M 3.1 — 2024-08-01
  25 km W of Colstrip, Montana
• M 2.7 — 2024-02-08
  27 km WNW of Colstrip, Montana
• M 3.2 — 2023-07-21
  Eastern Montana
• M 3.1 — 2022-12-16
  24 km NW of Colstrip, Montana
• M 3.6 — 2021-07-06
  27 km SSE of Melstone, Montana