Big Rock, Iowa
unincorporated community
Big Rock, Iowa is located in Iowa
Big Rock, Iowa
Big Rock, Iowa
Location of Big Rock within the state of Iowa
Coordinates: 41°46′13″N 90°49′35″W / 41.77028°N 90.82639°W / 41.77028; -90.82639[1]
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
CountyScott 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 zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code563
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.

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%±
202049—
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]

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
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