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History · Big Water

Big Water was first counted by the census in 1980

Most of Big Water was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1980.

1980first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Big Water began

When was Big Water founded?

1980

Big Water first appears in the census in 1980.

First census: 154 in 19802020 census: 44946 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Big Water’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 Water are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Water’s collection

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

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

Big Water is a town in Kane County, Utah, United States. The population was 449 at the 2020 census, down from 475 at the 2010 census. It is located 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Page, Arizona, on US-89 near Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam. It was originally called Glen Canyon City and housed workers who built the dam in the 1950s. Big Water made news in the 1980s as a polygamous colony of the Joseph clan. It also made news in 1986, when the mayor Alex Joseph and the city council left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party. This made Joseph the first Libertarian city mayor in the history of the U.S. Subsequently, Willy Marshall, also a Libertarian, was elected as the state's …

Its first post office opened in 1980. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 475 to 449 (-5%).

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

By decade

Big Water, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Kane County School District school bus, Oct 202020Kane County School District school bus, Oct 20Big Water UT2013Big Water UTBig Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com2012Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.comBig Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (7)2012Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (7)Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (6)2012Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (6)Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (5)2012Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (5)Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (4)2012Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (4)Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (3)2012Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (3)Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (2)2012Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (2)Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (1)2012Big Water Slot Canyon - DyeClan.com - panoramio (1)Bigwater-lowres2006Bigwater-lowres
On the map

Big Water on the map, 1953 to 1981

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

Big Water on the 1953 USGS mapBig Water on the 1981 USGS map1953Nipple Butte 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 Water.

People over time

Big Water, census by census

0100200300400500198020002020Peak: 475

Between 154 and 475 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Big Water

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

See all →
Fred KellerAmerican politician · b. 1965
Matt HaryaszAmerican basketball player · b. 1984
M
Mary Antonia WoodAmerican artist · b. 1959

Questions about Big Water’s history

What year was Big Water founded?

The Big Water post office opened in 1980, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1983.

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 (11), 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.