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History · Big Lake

Half of Big Lake’s homes were built after 2004

Most of Big Lake was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1990.

0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Big Lake’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 Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Big Lake’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Big Lake, in brief

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

Big Lake is a village in western Holt County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65 at the 2020 census. The village is located on the 646-acre (2.61 km2) Big Lake, which is the largest oxbow lake in Missouri. It is also adjacent to Big Lake State Park, which has the largest marsh in a state park in the state of Missouri.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 159 to 65 (-59%).

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

By decade

Big Lake, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Aerial view of Big Lake, Missouri 9-2-20132013Aerial view of Big Lake, Missouri 9-2-2013Big-lake-levee-breach2011Big-lake-levee-breachMOMap-doton-Big Lake2004MOMap-doton-Big Lake
On the map

Big Lake on the map, 1920 to 1981

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

Big Lake on the 1920 USGS mapBig Lake on the 1981 USGS map1920Craig 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 Lake.

People over time

Big Lake, census by census

010020002020Peak: 170

Between 65 and 170 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Big Lake’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Big Lake’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.