Big Rock, Iowa

Last updated

Big Rock, Iowa
Big Rock, Iowa.jpg
USA Iowa location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Big Rock, Iowa
Location of Big Rock within the state of Iowa
Coordinates: 41°46′13″N90°49′35″W / 41.77028°N 90.82639°W / 41.77028; -90.82639 [1]
Country United States
State Iowa
County Scott County
Clinton County
Area
[2]
  Total0.33 sq mi (0.85 km2)
  Land0.33 sq mi (0.85 km2)
  Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
[1]
676 ft (206 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total49
  Density148.48/sq mi (57.40/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code 563
GNIS feature ID454621

Big Rock is an unincorporated community in Scott and Clinton counties, Iowa, United States. The community is named for a large boulder.

Contents

Geography

Big Rock is located at the intersection of County Road Y42E and 317th Street, in the northwest corner of Scott County, northwest of Dixon and south of Wheatland.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
2020 49
U.S. Decennial Census [3]

History

Big Rock was founded by Peter Goddard in 1855, named after a large rock in the area. [4]

For 113 years, one of the town's main businesses was Horstmann's General Store, a general store where area residents could purchase groceries, supplies and miscellaneous items. The store closed in 2010 after the owner died. [5] The town at one time also had a railroad station, [6] a lumber yard, a dance hall, and a tavern, all of which also have since closed. It is home to a local cemetery, with dates of death going back to the mid-1880s and earlier. The city used to be a shipping port for timber and wood, as well as distributed ice throughout the area via a small waterfall that was accessed in a wooded area away from the main highway that now runs through the middle of the town. This ice was brought across from the wooded area and then slid down a large hill to deliver to the town and the rail yard for distribution.

The population was 97 in 1940. [7]

Big Rock was also home to two churches, one of which was torn down in the early 2000s.

The town still from time to time will get together for "Big Rock days", a celebration of the local community in front of the large rock in which the town is named after. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quad Cities</span> Metropolitan area in the United States

The Quad Cities is a region of cities in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are the center of the Quad Cities metropolitan area, a region within the Mississippi River Valley, which as of 2013 had a population estimate of 383,781 and a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) population of 474,937, making it the 90th-largest CSA in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott County, Iowa</span> County in Iowa, United States

Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 174,669, making it the third-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Davenport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubuque County, Iowa</span> County in Iowa, United States

Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,266, making it the eighth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Dubuque. The county is named for Julien Dubuque, the first European settler of Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gate City, Virginia</span> Town in Virginia, United States

Gate City is a town in Scott County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,034 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of Scott County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monti, Iowa</span> Unincorporated community in Iowa, United States

Monti is an unincorporated community located in the southeast corner of Buchanan County, Iowa, in the United States. Founded in the 1880s and platted in 1905, the community lies on the west bank of Buffalo Creek, 6 miles (10 km) east of Quasqueton and 8 miles (13 km) west of Ryan.

Homestead is an unincorporated community in Iowa County, Iowa, United States. It has the ZIP code 52236.

Cambria is an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Wayne County, Iowa, United States. It has never been incorporated, but it has existed since 1849. Although Cambria had the first post office in the county, its post office has since been closed, and its residents now have rural Corydon addresses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevada, Iowa</span> City in Iowa, United States

Nevada is a city in, and the county seat of, Story County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6,925 in the 2020 census, an increase from 6,658 in 2000. Nevada is part of the Ames, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a part of the larger Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical Area. Nevada is the second-most populous city in Story County. The city's name is pronounced differently from the U.S. state of Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Junction, Iowa</span> Census-designated place in Iowa, United States

California Junction is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Harrison County, Iowa, United States. It lies just east of the junction between the east–west and north–south lines of the former Sioux City and Pacific Railroad. In the 2010 census it had a population of 85 inhabitants and a population density of 184.38 people per square mile.

Adaza is an unincorporated community in Greene County, Iowa, United States. It is located on County Road E13, three miles northwest of Churdan, at 42.194705N, -94.4969273W.

Arbor Hill is an unincorporated community or ghost town in Adair County, Iowa, United States.

Bartlett is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fremont County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 50. It is located at the intersection of County Road L31 and Western Avenue, near Interstate 29 and the Missouri River and is 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Thurman.

Churchville is an unincorporated community in Warren County, Iowa, United States. It is located in Jefferson Township at the intersection of Churchville Street and 30th Avenue. It is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of Prole and two miles (3.2 km) north of Martensdale at an altitude of 971 feet (296 m).

Berea was an unincorporated community in Eureka Township, Adair County, Iowa, United States.

Poplar is a rural unincorporated community in Audubon County, Iowa, in the United States. It is part of the Poplar Rural District which is recognized as a rural historic district and was the largest rural settlement of Danish immigrants in the United States.

Vandalia is an unincorporated community in Jasper County, in the U.S. state of Iowa.

Murphy is a former unincorporated community in Jasper County, in the U.S. state of Iowa.

Verdi is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Iowa, United States. It was located on the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad in the northern part of Brighton Township.

Galesburg is an unincorporated community in Jasper County, in the U.S. state of Iowa.

Juniata was an unincorporated community in Buena Vista County, located in the U.S. state of Iowa.

References

  1. 1 2 "Big Rock". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  3. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  4. Savage, Tom (2007). A Dictionary of Iowa Place-Names, p. 39. University Of Iowa Press. ISBN   1-58729-531-8.
  5. Howes, Kate (January 16, 2010). "General store's closing marks end of an era in Big Rock" . Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  6. "Big Rock, Iowa. ex MILW · Iowa Heritage Digital Collections". www.iowaheritage.org. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  7. The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 293.
  8. Rathjen, Brian, The North Scott Press, January 27, 2010. Accessed April 28, 2011. "A salute to the general store" Archived 2011-08-23 at the Wayback Machine