Welcome to Big Stone Gap ...
The town of Big Stone Gap is located in Wise County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Big Stone Gap, you might consider that their post office opened in 1856.
The town was incorporated April 7, 1882.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Big Stone Gap has a population of 5,136 people<2> (see below for details).
Big Stone Gap is 1,480 feet [451 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Big Stone Gap lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Big Stone Gap: (276)
The ZIP code for Big Stone Gap: 24219<4>
Going back to its beginning, The community of Big Stone Gap was originally named Mineral City. For more information about the names of Big Stone Gap, see The Names of Big Stone Gap on our Genealogy Page.
Websites for Big Stone Gap ...
Official Website: www.bigstonegap.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Big Stone Gap had an population of 5,136 people. This is a decrease of 8.51% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 5.77% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Big Stone Gap had a population of 5,614 people (or 13.54% of the total population of Wise County). This makes Big Stone Gap the county's most populous community.
The population of Big Stone Gap represents 0.07% of the population of Virginia (which has 8,001,024 people), making it the state's 61st most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 5,614 people, the population of Big Stone Gap increased 15.61% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 4,856 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Big Stone Gap.
Communities near Big Stone Gap ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Big Stone Gap.
- Norton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Norton is located in Norton City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,985 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton <6>
- Wise
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wise
- Wise is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,885 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wise <6>
- Gate City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate City
- Gate City is located in Scott County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gate City <6>
- Cumberland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Cumberland is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,854 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cumberland <6>
- Coeburn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coeburn
- Coeburn is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,835 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coeburn <6>
- Whitesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Whitesburg is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,813 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesburg <6>
- Pennington Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington Gap
- Pennington Gap is located in Lee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,708 people
- Pound
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pound
- Pound is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 917 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pound <6>
- Lynch
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch
- Lynch is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 630 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lynch <6>
- Benham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benham have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benham
- Benham is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benham <6>
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 Stone Gap. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Big Stone Gap.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Big Stone Gap. 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 Stone Gap.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Stone Gap. Our list includes 6 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Big Stone Gap.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Big Stone Gap ...
Looking for more information about Big Stone Gap? 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.
In addition to the Tourism page for Big Stone Gap, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Big Stone Gap.
Adding Big Stone Gap to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Big Stone Gap 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 Stone Gap was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Big Stone Gap post office opened in 1856.
We also found Big Stone Gap in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Big Stone Gap.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Big Stone Gap: www.bigstonegap.org/
The official website for Wise County: www.wisecounty.org/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Wise, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Big Stone Gap. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Big Stone Gap - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Big Stone Gap). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Big Stone Gap or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |