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History · Big Springs

Big Springs dates to 1884, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Phelps Hotel. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1920.

1884founded
1on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Big Springs began

When was Big Springs founded?

1884

Big Springs dates its founding to 1884 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 408 in 19202020 census: 394142 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1894.The full story ↓

What stands out about Big Springs’ 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 Springs are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1985. Watch Big Springs change.Boom and bustPeaked at 595 in 1930; 394 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Big Springs’ homes were built before 1944.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Springs’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Springs’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
On the map

Big Springs on the map, 1900 to 1985

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

Big Springs on the 1900 USGS mapBig Springs on the 1961 USGS mapBig Springs on the 1985 USGS map1900Chappell sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Big Springs, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 595

Peaked at 595 in 1930; 394 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Big Springs came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Big Springs.

Read it all →

The first name of the settlement was "Lone Tree", after a large cottonwood tree standing alone on the prairie near the town. It was believed to be over 100 years old at the time of first settlement and could be seen by riders on the Pony Express and travelers on the Oregon Trail. Sam Bass's gang reportedly divided $60,000 in loot under the tree from an 1877 robbery of a Union Pacific train.

The railroad named this stop "Big Springs" in 1867. Spring water from near the track was used by steam locomotives until 1950.

Big Springs was platted in 1884, and named for the stream that runs through town. The Big Springs post office, established in 1884, was officially called Bigspring until 1943. The village of Big Springs was incorporated in 1917.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Big Springs, 1884 to 1943

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884
    FoundingBig Springs is established
  3. 1894Post officeThe Bigspring post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 595
  7. 1943Post officeThe Bigspring post office closes
  8. 1943Post officeThe Big Springs post office opens
By decade

Big Springs, decade by decade

Today5 recent
US138 West2019US138 WestBig Springs NE P60605832012Big Springs NE P6060583Big Springs, Nebraska downtown 22011Big Springs, Nebraska downtown 2Big Springs, Nebraska downtown 12011Big Springs, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Big Springs2005NEMap-doton-Big Springs
On the National Register

1 historic place in Big Springs

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
1970
Phelps Hotel
Phelps Hotel
Buildings
Phelps HotelBuilding

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Big Springs

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

See all →
Gary GlickAmerican football player · b. 1930
Fred DuttonRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1923
James Theodore RichmondAmerican librarian · b. 1890
J
John MasonAmerican ceramic artist · b. 1927
L. Steven GraszUnited States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circ… · b. 1961
Danielle Ate the SandwichAmerican musician · b. 1986
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Big Springs’s post office has been open since 1943. Another post office, Bigspring, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bigspring
1894–1943
Big Springs
1943–today
18901960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Big Springs’ history

What year was Big Springs founded?

In 1884, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Big Springs’ post office opened in 1894, and the census of 1920 counted 408 people here.

What is on the National Register in Big Springs?

One place: the Phelps Hotel (listed 1970).

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.