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The Commemorative Quarter for West Virginia





Welcome to Big Chimney ...

Big Chimney is located in Kanawha County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Big Chimney, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1905.

Big Chimney is 640 feet [195 m] above sea level.<2>.

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

Area Codes for Big Chimney: 304 & 681<3>

The ZIP code for Big Chimney: 25302<4>

Communities near Big Chimney ...

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

  • Charleston
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • South Charleston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Charleston have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Charleston
    • South Charleston is located in Kanawha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,036 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Charleston <5>
  • Saint Albans
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Albans have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Albans
    • Saint Albans is located in Kanawha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,763 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Albans <5>
  • Dunbar
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Nitro
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nitro have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitro
    • Nitro is located in Kanawha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,285 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nitro <5>
  • Montgomery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Chesapeake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesapeake have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesapeake
    • Chesapeake is located in Kanawha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,393 people
  • Marmet
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marmet have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marmet
    • Marmet is located in Kanawha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,351 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marmet <5>
  • Belle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle
    • Belle is located in Kanawha County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,108 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belle <5>
  • Clendenin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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

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

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

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Big Chimney ...

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

Adding Big Chimney to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Big Chimney 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 Chimney was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

X2X - From that list, the Big Chimney post office opened in 1905.

We also found Big Chimney on a map titled Rand McNally Map of West Virginia (1911).

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Chimney. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Kanawha County: www.kanawha.us/

The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of West Virginia's counties, including Kanawha, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Big Chimney - 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 304 code has been Overlayed with the 681 area code. New phone numbers in the Big Chimney area will be assigned with one of these codes: 304 or 681. As a result, placing a call in the Big Chimney area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Big Chimney). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Big Chimney or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>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.
<7>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

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




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 18 Apr 2025