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History · Big Bend Township

22% of Big Bend Township’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Colton's Crossing Bridge. Below: maps from 1960 on.

1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Big Bend Township’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 Bend Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Big Bend Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Bend Township’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 Bend Township, in brief

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

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 153 to 175 (+14%).

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 Bend Township on the map, 1960 to 1986

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

Big Bend Township on the 1960 USGS mapBig Bend Township on the 1986 USGS map1960Lisbon NE sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Big Bend Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Colton's Crossing Bridge
Colton's Crossing Bridge, built 1907
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Pratt through truss bridge1
All 1 listings
Colton's Crossing BridgeStructure · listed 1997

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Casey TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAliceton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townScoville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townShenford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIsland Park TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Big Bend Township’s history

What is on the National Register in Big Bend Township?

One place: the Colton's Crossing Bridge (listed 1997).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.