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Big Rock

Ghost town · Black Hawk County, Iowa

Waterloo North quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1963, 1:24,000)
Waterloo North quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1963, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Big Rock is a ghost town in Black Hawk County, Iowa. It is one of 6 former communities in Black Hawk County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 4th among the 79 Iowa counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Big Rock as a historical populated place on the Waterloo North topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 42.5517° N, 92.2980° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleWaterloo North
Elevation941 ft
Nearest living townWaterloo, IA
Distance to it4.9 miles
GNIS feature ID464149
Coordinates42.55165, -92.29796

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Big Rock is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Waterloo, IA (population 66,947), about 4.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 941 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Big Rock?

Big Rock is in Black Hawk County, Iowa, at 42.5517, -92.2980.

How many ghost towns are in Black Hawk County?

Black Hawk County, Iowa has 6 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.