South Side in Billings in Yellowstone County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

All We Need is Some Water

Building the Big Ditch

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020

1. All We Need is Some Water Marker

Captions: (upper left) After running downhill through a tunnel in the rimrocks, a flume carried water over Alkali Creek to the Billings Heights. The BBWA flume was destroyed by a flood in June, 1937.; (bottom left) The Yellowstone River and the main canal of the federally sponsored Huntley Irrigation Project, May, 1909.; (bottom center) View of the Billings Land and Irrigation Company ditch going into the Rimrocks, 1909. The canal was renamed and is now managed by the Billings Bench Water Association.; (bottom right) An aerial image of Poly Drive, Rimrock Road, the Hilands Golf Course (left foreground) and Billings Polytechnic (now Rocky Mountain College), 1926. The large canal going through the fledgling golf course is the Billings Bench Water Association (BBWA) canal.

Inscription. The Northern Pacific Railway created Billings, but irrigation made the land productive. The use of the Yellowstone River for irrigation allows for the production of alfalfa, sugar beets, pinto beans, and corn. It also provides water for trees and parklands.
The first irrigation ditch in this area was the "Big Ditch." Its intake of water from the Yellowstone River begins near Park City and ends at 19th Street West within Billings' city limits. The Billings Bench Water Association (BBWA) canal, the largest irrigation ditch, flows north of downtown, going through a 500-foot tunnel through the Rimrocks, feeding Lake Elmo, terminating at Shepard. The Huntley Irrigation Project was established by the United States Bureau of Reclamation in 1907 and water the land around Worden, Ballantine, Pompeys Pillar, and Huntley. The story is splendidly told at the Huntley Project Museum of Irrigated Agriculture, northeast of Billings.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 45° 47.027′ N, 108° 29.934′ W. Marker is in Billings, Montana, in Yellowstone County. It is in the South Side. Marker can be reached from Montana Avenue (Business Interstate 90) near North 23rd Street, on the right

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when traveling east. The marker is found on the fence paralleling the railroad tracks. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2310 Montana Avenue, Billings MT 59101, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Black Gold (a few steps from this marker); Houses of Ill Repute (a few steps from this marker); St. Vincent Healthcare (a few steps from this marker); The Iron Horse Comes To Billings (within shouting distance of this marker); Teddy Roosevelt Visits the Depot - 1918 (within shouting distance of this marker); The College Life (within shouting distance of this marker); Billings Clinic: Healthcare on the Frontier (within shouting distance of this marker); The People's Mansion (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Billings.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020

2. All We Need is Some Water Marker

The marker is located on the fence line.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 15, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 346 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 15, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.