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History · Big Island

Big Island’s post office opened in 1846, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1939 on.

1846first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Big Island began

When was Big Island founded?

1846

The Big Island post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 300180 years
Founding year: the first Big Island post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Big Island’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 Island are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Big Island’s homes were built before 1942.Deep rootsA post office since 1846: 180 years of Big Island.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Island’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Island’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
The story

How Big Island came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Big Island.

Read it all →

The area is named for a large, uninhabited island in the river upstream from the community.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Big Island, 1846 to 1939

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846Post officeThe Big Island post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1928Born hereLacey E. Putney is born here
  5. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Big Island, decade by decade

Today3 recent
07272025 juice202507272025 juiceBig Island intersection2019Big Island intersectionBig Island UMC from north2017Big Island UMC from north
On the map

Big Island on the map, 1939 to 1999

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

Big Island on the 1939 USGS mapBig Island on the 1940 USGS mapBig Island on the 1950 USGS mapBig Island on the 1965 USGS mapBig Island on the 1983 USGS mapBig Island on the 1999 USGS map1939Buena Vista 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 Island.

Questions about Big Island’s history

What year was Big Island founded?

The Big Island post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.