Welcome to Big Shanty ...
Big Shanty is located in McKean County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Big Shanty, you might consider that their post office opened in 1881.
Big Shanty is 2,090 feet [637 m] above sea level.<2>.
Time Zone: Big Shanty lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Big Shanty: 814 & 582<3>
Communities near Big Shanty ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Big Shanty.
- Bradford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Kane
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Port Allegany
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Allegany
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allegany have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegany
- Allegany is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allegany <4>
- Smethport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smethport have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smethport
- Smethport is located in McKean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,518 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smethport <4>
- Mount Jewett
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Eldred
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Limestone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Aiken
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aiken. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Aiken is located in McKean County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Aiken
- From Big Shanty to Aiken
- Custer City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Custer City have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer City
- Custer City is located in McKean County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Custer City <4>
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 Shanty. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Big Shanty.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Big Shanty. 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 Shanty.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Shanty. See our Newspapers Page for Big Shanty.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Big Shanty ...
Looking for more information about Big Shanty? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Big Shanty, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Big Shanty.
Adding Big Shanty to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Big Shanty in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Big Shanty was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Big Shanty post office opened in 1881.
We also found Big Shanty in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Big Shanty.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties, including McKean, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Big Shanty - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 814 code has been Overlayed with the 582 area code. New phone numbers in the Big Shanty area will be assigned with one of these codes: 814 or 582. As a result, placing a call in the Big Shanty area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at:
https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |