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History · Big Creek

Big Creek’s post office opened in 1835, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1909 on.

1835first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Big Creek began

When was Big Creek founded?

1835

The Big Creek post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Layette (1903), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 195191 years
Founding year: the first Big Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Big Creek’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 Creek are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1835: 191 years of Big Creek.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Big Creek’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big Creek’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
Timeline

Big Creek, 1835 to 1909

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835Post officeThe Big Creek post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Layette post office opens
  5. 1904Post officeThe Layette post office closes
  6. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Big Creek, in brief

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

Big Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Logan County, West Virginia, United States. Big Creek is located on West Virginia Route 10, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northwest of Chapmanville. Big Creek has a post office with ZIP code 25505. As of the 2020 census, its population was 195 (down from 237 at the 2010 census). The community takes its name from nearby Big Creek.

Its first post office opened in 1835. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 237 to 195 (-18%).

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

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.
Add from your album
On the map

Big Creek on the map, 1909 to 1962

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

Big Creek on the 1909 USGS mapBig Creek on the 1962 USGS map1909Midkiff 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 Creek.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Big Creek’s post office has been open since 1835. Another post office, Layette, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Big Creek
1835–today
Layette
1903–1904
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Baber
1cemetery inside Big Creek
Mobley

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

Questions about Big Creek’s history

What year was Big Creek founded?

The Big Creek post office opened in 1835, 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 →
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 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.