Welcome to Big Spring ...
So far, we found very little information about Big Spring. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Big Spring to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Big Spring, please Contact Us.
Big Spring would have been located within present day Wayne County<2>.
The location of Big Spring has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<3>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Big Spring, you might consider that their post office opened in 1875.
A typical abbreviation for Big Spring: Big Spg. (or less commonly used: Big Spng. or Big Sprng.)
While the community is gone, the present day location for Big Spring is 1,060 feet [323 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: The area where Big Spring was located is in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
If Big Spring still existed, it would have been in the (641) area code.
Communities Also Named Big Spring ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 21 communities that are also named Big Spring - they are located in Alabama, Georgia (3), Kentucky, Maryland (2), Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (3), Tennessee (3), Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Spring.
Communities near Big Spring ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Big Spring.
- Leon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
- Leon is located in Decatur County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leon <5>
- Corydon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corydon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corydon
- Corydon is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,593 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corydon <5>
- Princeton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Princeton is located in Mercer County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Princeton <5>
- Allerton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allerton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allerton
- Allerton is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 507 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allerton <5>
- Humeston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humeston
- Humeston is located in Wayne County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Humeston <5>
- Mercer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer
- Mercer is located in Mercer County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mercer <5>
- Lineville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Van Wert
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest) - Garden Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Grove
- Garden Grove is located in Decatur County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
- Davis City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis City
- Davis City is located in Decatur County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Big Spring. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Big Spring.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Big Spring. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Spring.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Spring. See our Newspapers Page for Big Spring.
Adding Big Spring to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Big Spring in the GNIS. For more information, see the Referenced GNIS Codes section on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Big Spring was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Big Spring post office opened in 1875.
We also found Big Spring in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Big Spring.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Big Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Wayne, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Big Spring - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |