Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Big Creek

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Big Creek

Big Creek’s post office opened in 1912, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1953 on.

1912first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Big Creek’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Big Creek began

When was Big Creek founded?

1912

The Big Creek post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 151114 years
Founding year: the first Big Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Big Creek’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Creek’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Creek’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 photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBig Creek Hydroelectric System, Powerho…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Big Creek came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Big Creek.

Read it all →

Big Creek was built at the site of the first dam and power plant of Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, one of the most extensive in the world. Other than the private helipad owned by Southern California Edison, the only way in or out of the town is Big Creek Road, off of State Route 168. The dam has a walkway across it to the south bank, but access is limited to employees of SCE and those residents who have been given a key. Its major industries are electric power generation and tourism. There is camping and water recreation in the summer and snow skiing in the winter. Huntington Lake is to the northeast and Shaver Lake is to the south. China Peak is only about 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) away. Though Big Creek's only school is an elementary, it teaches kindergarten through 8th grade.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Big Creek, decade by decade

Date unknown4 to date
Big Creek Hydroelectric System, Powerhouse 3 Penstock StandpipesDate?Big Creek Hydroelectric System, Powerhouse 3 Penstock…Big Creek Hydroelectric System, Powerhouse 8, Operator CottageDate?Big Creek Hydroelectric System, Powerhouse 8, Operato…Big Creek Hydroelectric SystemDate?Big Creek Hydroelectric SystemBig Creek Hydroelectric SystemDate?Big Creek Hydroelectric System
Today1 recent
Indian Pools2010Indian Pools
On the map

Big Creek on the map, 1953 to 2004

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

Big Creek on the 1953 USGS mapBig Creek on the 1982 USGS mapBig Creek on the 2004 USGS map1953Huntington Lake sheet · 1:62,500

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

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.

Big Creek Hydroelectric System, Powerhouse 3 Penstock Standpipes
Retake this viewBig Creek Hydroelectric System, Powerhouse 3 Penstock Standpipes

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Big Creek

Nobody well known was born in Big Creek itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
C
Carly MarguliesAmerican freestyle skier · b. 1997
Jeff KingAmerican dog musher · b. 1956
J
Jim TracyAmerican ski coach

Questions about Big Creek’s history

What year was Big Creek founded?

The Big Creek post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.