Hesper is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in western

Yellowstone County Yellowstone County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 164,731. Its county seat is Billings. Yellowstone County is named for the Yellowstone River which roughly bisects the county ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

, United States. It is located northeast of

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

and west of

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

. Hesper appears on the Mossmain U.S. Geological Survey Map.

History

Hesper was established in 1917 as a town adjoining the Hesper ranch and is also the name of the school district. The name Hesper or

Hesperus In Greek mythology, Hesperus (; grc, Ἕσπερος, Hésperos) is the Evening Star, the planet Venus in the evening. He is one of the '' Astra Planeta''. A son of the dawn goddess Eos ( Roman Aurora), he is the half-brother of her other son, ...

, is the evening star, and according to old mythology, the king of the western land. The name has Masonic roots. The community is named after the Hesper Farm, founded by Ignatius Daniel O'Donnell. In its heyday, the depot in Hesper served as a hub for surrounding farms and ranchers in the area. However, by the 1940s the town began to lose importance and declined. Most of the original township itself is no longer in use, with many of the original structures leveled or abandoned. The community is home to the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch and is now considered a subdivision of the Billings Metro Area. The former Hesper School District is currently the Elder Grove Elementary School District and is still in operation today, serving grades kindergarten through eight.

References

Unincorporated communities in Yellowstone County, Montana Unincorporated communities in Montana {{YellowstoneCountyMT-geo-stub