Big Creek, Kentucky

Big Creek is a 4.5 mi long creek in Kentucky, United States whose headwaters are in Leslie County and that flows into the Red Bird River in Clay County. A postoffice and village are named for it. Its own name is likely purely descriptive of its frequent flooding and high water levels, as it is not otherwise one of the biggest tributaries of Red Bird River.

Tributaries and post offices
The mouth of Big Creek is 15 mile upstream on Red Bird River at an altitude of 789 ft above sea level. Both the Daniel Boone Parkway and Kentucky Route 80 parallel its course from its mouth to where it splits into Halls and Collins/Couch Forks.


 * Its major tributaries are:
 * Granny Branch 0.5 mile upstream at altitude 810 ft, mouth at 37.16339°N, -83.57474°W headwaters at 37.19484°N, -83.56172°W
 * Smith Branch 1 mile upstream at altitude 825 ft
 * Bear Branch 1.875 mile upstream at altitude 850 ft and 2 mi long, mouth at 37.16391°N, -83.54926°W upper forks at 37.15753°N, -83.54068°W
 * Ulysses Fork 2.5 mile upstream at altitude 860 ft, mouth at 37.16701°N, -83.5414°W
 * Schoolhouse Branch 0.375 mile upstream at altitude 870 ft, mouth at 37.16985°N, -83.53892°W upper forks at 37.18352°N, -83.54123°W
 * Right Fork 1.75 mile upstream at altitude 955 ft, confluence at 37.1869°N, -83.52628°W upper forks at 37.19748°N, -83.51862°W
 * Left Fork 1.75 mile upstream at altitude 955 ft, mouth at 37.2069°N, -83.52785°W
 * Meadow Fork 0.5 mile upstream at altitude 1015 ft, mouth at 37.19564°N, -83.53092°W headwaters at 37.19748°N, -83.54291°W
 * Chandler Branch 3.5 mile upstream at altitude 975 ft, mouth at 37.16872°N, -83.52307°W headwaters at 37.19383°N, -83.50295°W
 * Collins Fork (a.k.a. Couch Fork) 4 mile upstream at altitude 895 ft paralleled by the Daniel Boone Parkway
 * Hollins Fork 0.75 mile upstream at altitude 925 ft, mouth at 37.1687°N, -83.5071°W upper forks at 37.18743°N, -83.46592°W
 * Bob Fork 0.375 mile upstream at altitude 965 ft, mouth at 37.17407°N, -83.49702°W headwaters at 37.19873°N, -83.49305°W
 * Half-way Branch 1.75 mile upstream at altitude 1070 ft
 * three forks 3 mile upstream at altitude 1210 ft, at 37.16769°N, -83.46928°W
 * Halls Fork (a.k.a. Hals Fork) 4 mile upstream at altitude 895 ft, which U.S. 421 parallels, confluence with Collins Fork at 37.16415°N, -83.51798°W
 * Old McHenry Fork 1 mile upstream at altitude 945 ft, mouth at 37.15653°N, -83.50584°W
 * McFadden Branch 0.75 mile upstream at altitude 1000 ft
 * Patton Branch 0.75 mile upstream at altitude 1005 ft
 * Poplar Gap Branch 0.75 mile upstream at altitude 1005 ft

Big Creek village and post office
The post office named after it was established by James Marcum on January 10, 1871. Originally located one mile up from the Red Bird River, it has moved several times up and down the creek, and as of 2000 was located three quarters of a mile up from the Red Bird, serving the Big Creek village. The village is located on U.S. Route 421, 10.7 mi east of Manchester. Big Creek postoffice has ZIP code 40914.

Bear Branch post office
A Bear Branch post office was established by William Britton on November 10, 1923, named after the branch. Originally located a mere 50 ft across the county line into Clay, it was moved on February 12, 1924, to Ulysses Creek by postmaster Thomas T. Hensley. It moved again when U.S. 421 was built, to a point next to the highway, and a further time in 1936 to its present location just below the branch 100 yd from the Clay county line.

Jason post office
A Jason post office was established by postmaster Billie Jones to serve Hollins Fork on September 1, 1937. During its lifetime from then until July 1965, it was located in three different places along the fork, above the Bear Branch post office, ending up less than 0.5 mi from the original site of Obed post office. The postmaster's original choice of name, Elim, was disregarded because of potential confusion with an Elem post office in Rockcastle County.

Obed post office
Couch Fork used to be named Collins Fork, and the Obed post office, founded on January 26, 1903, by postmaster Levi Couch, used to lie between Collins and Hollins Forks. Obed was in 1936 moved downhill to the Twin Branch tributary of Collins/Couch Fork and closed in 1938.

General
In 1918, P.D. Marcum had a mine 1.25 mile upstream on Granny Branch, and Thomas A. Bird had one on a minor fork of Bear 0.75 mile upstream.

Lee Crawford had two mines, one 0.175 mile upstream and one 2 mile upstream on Bear Branch.

Thomas Hensley had one on a minor fork of Ulysses Fork 0.75 mile upstream, Felix Roberts had one on a minor fork of Right Fork Ulysses Fork 1.75 mile upstream, and J. M. Finley had one at the mouth of Meadow Fork and one 0.75 mile upstream on Left Fork Ulysses Fork.

H.B. Collins's mine was on a minor fork of Half-Way Branch 0.75 mile upstream. Wesley McFadden's was on McFadden Branch 0.5 mile upstream. Hiram Collins lived 2.5 mile upstream on Halls Fork where there had been an older Collins mine.

On Big Creek itself, Wiley Spurlock had a mine 1.25 mile upstream, and Hiram Sizemore had one on a minor fork opposite the mouth of Collins.