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Welcome to Big Sandy ...

Big Sandy is located in McDowell County<1>.



While we don't have a date for the founding of Big Sandy, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1900.

Big Sandy is 1,130 feet [344 m] above sea level.<2>.

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

Telephone area codes for Big Sandy: (304) & (681)<3>

Communities Also Named Big Sandy ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two West Virginia communities named Big Sandy: This one is located in McDowell County and the other is located in Wayne County.

Beyond West Virginia, there are 11 communities that are also named Big Sandy - they are located in Georgia, Kentucky (2), Montana, Nebraska, Ontario, Tennessee (2), Texas and Wyoming.

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

Communities near Big Sandy ...

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

  • Welch
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
    • Welch is located in McDowell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <4>
  • Mullens
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mullens have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullens
    • Mullens is located in Wyoming County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,288 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mullens <4>
  • Oceana
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Gary
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
    • Gary is located in McDowell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
  • War
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for War have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
    • War is located in McDowell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
  • Pineville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Gilbert
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilbert have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilbert
    • Gilbert is located in Mingo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 378 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilbert <4>
  • Northfork
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northfork have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northfork
    • Northfork is located in McDowell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Northfork <4>
  • Bradshaw
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bradshaw have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradshaw
    • Bradshaw is located in McDowell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bradshaw <4>
  • Iaeger
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iaeger have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iaeger
    • Iaeger is located in McDowell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 232 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 Sandy. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Big Sandy.

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

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

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Big Sandy ...

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

Adding Big Sandy to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Big Sandy 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 Sandy was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Big Sandy post office opened in 1900.

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

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

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

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 McDowell, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Big Sandy - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>Area code (681) is an overlay for area code (304).
<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>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: 10 Mar 2024