The story
Read it all →How Big Rock came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Big Rock.
Big Rock was founded by Peter Goddard in 1855, named after a large rock in the area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Big Rock
Big Rock’s post office opened in 1853, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1892 on and old-book passages.
1853first post office
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Big Rock began
When was Big Rock founded?
1853
The Big Rock post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 49173 years
Founding year: the first Big Rock post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Big Rock’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Big Rock’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Rock’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Big Rock on the map, 1892 to 1991
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Big Rock. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Wheatland sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Big Rock.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Big Rock in 1911
Passages that mention Big Rock, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Wolfe's history of Clinton County, Iowa1911 · page 329Read the page →
Read the text
while to the east is Olive township, to the .south Scott county and on the west is Cedar countv. It takes its name from a natural ohject in Scott county, and came about after this wise; At what is now the village of Big Rock. Scott countv. tliere is to he seen a huge and lofty rock, known in a very early time as "Big Rock." also as ""Spring Rock" for at the liase of tiiis great rock is a fine large spring of the purest water, gushing out to make glad the lieart of the passer-hv. The first jjostof^ice within the present limits f)f the township was named Spring Rock, from this old land-mark. Later, when the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Big Rock, 1853 to 1975
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1853Post officeThe Big Rock post office opens
- 1892
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1975Post officeThe Big Rock post office closes
By decade
Big Rock, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2022Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Big Rock
Nobody well known was born in Big Rock itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Big Rock had its own post office from 1853 to 1975.
Big Rock
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Big RocklocaleBig Rock Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Big Rock
Big RockSaint Patricks
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Big Rock’s history
What year was Big Rock founded?
The Big Rock post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.