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History · Big Lagoon

28% of Big Lagoon’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1945 on.

0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Big Lagoon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Big Lagoon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Big Lagoon’s homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Lagoon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Lagoon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Big Lagoon, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Big Lagoon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Big Lagoon is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California, United States, located 7 miles (11 km) north of Trinidad at an elevation of 56 feet (17 m). The population as of the 2020 census was 161, an increase from 93 in the 2010 census. The area covers .61 square miles (1.6 km2), excluding water.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 93 to 161 (+73%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Big Lagoon on the map, 1945 to 1966

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

Big Lagoon on the 1945 USGS mapBig Lagoon on the 1952 USGS mapBig Lagoon on the 1966 USGS map1945Trinidad 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 Lagoon.

Famous people

Famous people close to Big Lagoon

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

See all →
S
Sara BareillesAmerican recording artist; pop rock singer-song… · b. 1979
M
Mike PattonAmerican singer · b. 1968
Steve CochranAmerican actor · b. 1917
Trevor DunnAmerican bassist · b. 1968
K
Kevin StillAmerican rower · b. 1960
Naomi LangAmerican ice dancer · b. 1978

Questions about Big Lagoon’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.