TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
Big RiverGood evening
History · Big River

Big River’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Big River. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Big River is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 1,084 at the 2020 census, down from 1,327 at the 2010 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,327 to 1,084 (-18%). Half of its homes were built before 1986.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Big River yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Big River’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Big River’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Big River

See all 11 →
Crystal HarrisCrystal HarrisLake Havasu City · 25 miLeo BiasiucciLeo BiasiucciLake Havasu City · 25 miVeronica MurdockVeronica MurdockParker · 11 miASAdam SevadaParker · 11 miVOVincent OkamotoPoston · 10 miMWMargaret WoodParker · 11 mi
By decade

Big River, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Big River is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Big River has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Old Presbyterian Church in Bluewater, 3.3 miles away.

Big River and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Big River. Tap a dot.
Old Presbyterian ChurchParker JailPoston Elementary School, Unit 1, Colorado River Relocation Center

Closest to Big River

Old Presbyterian ChurchBluewater · Building3.3miParker JailParker · Built 19143.9miPoston Elementary School, Unit 1, Colorado River Relocation CenterPoston · Building10.5mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Old Presbyterian Church’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Big River?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Big River’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Parker📜 Lake Havasu City📜 Quartzsite📜 Blythe
The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Big River, CAView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Big River is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map