RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Big Laurel ...

Big Laurel is located in Wise County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Big Laurel, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1912.

Big Laurel is 2,180 feet [664 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the altitude of Big Laurel is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: Big Laurel lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Big Laurel: 276

Communities Also Named Big Laurel ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 3 communities that are also named Big Laurel - they are located in Kentucky and North Carolina (2).

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Laurel.

Communities near Big Laurel ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Big Laurel.

  • Big Stone Gap
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Norton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
    • Norton is located in Norton City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,985 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton <3>
  • Wise
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jenkins
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
    • Jenkins is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,895 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jenkins <3>
  • Coeburn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Whitesburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
    • Whitesburg is located in Letcher County (KY)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,813 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesburg <3>
  • Appalachia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Clintwood
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Pound
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Saint Paul
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)

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 Laurel. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Big Laurel.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Big Laurel. 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 Laurel.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Laurel. See our Newspapers Page for Big Laurel.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Big Laurel ...

Looking for more information about Big Laurel? 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 Laurel, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Big Laurel.

Adding Big Laurel to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Big Laurel 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 Laurel was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Big Laurel post office opened in 1912.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Big Laurel.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Wise, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Big Laurel - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/