Big Sandy, Texas
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1956 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Big Sandy census division. It lies in ZIP code area 75755. The Survey maps it on the Big Sandy quadrangle. 1,231 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 367 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresBig Sandy fell from 1,343 to 1,231 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,343 | |
| 2020 | 1,231 | -112 (-8%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1956 USGS Tyler quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1960 USGS Big Sandy quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1984 USGS Tyler quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1985 USGS Mineola quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Mineola quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
303 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 303 fires within 5 miles of Big Sandy between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,335 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 10 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 178 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 58 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 18 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 14 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 10 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 10 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SMITH 15:15 |
| 9 September 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1.5 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SEPT09-2012A |
| 9 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | PERSIMMON |
| 6 September 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 15 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | LINDEN - 377 |
| 5 September 2013 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | 5698 FM 155 |
| 5 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | DIAL RD |
| 5 September 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 18373 CR 3132 |
| 4 September 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | SEP04-2014 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Big Sandy: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Sandy Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Big Sandy Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
34 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Big Sandy in 34 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 14 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 6 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | $50,000 | A large tree was downed onto a home near Tyler Street in Big Sandy. The occupants were trapped inside. There were no report of injuries. Numerous powerlines were also downed across the city. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | $50,000 | Downed trees were reported in town. One tree crushed a tree at the end of Pearl Street near Hwy 155. One tree fell on a home in Big Sandy as well. Several power poles were downed along Pearl Street. Another tree was reported down across Wildcat Drive. |
| April 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | $25,000 | Numerous trees were blown down, some onto houses and across roads and streets. |
| July 1997 | Flash Flood | Big Sandy | $15,000 | Hwy 80 was closed from Big Sandy to Gladewater due to heavy flooding throughout the area. Minor damage also occurred to the road. |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | $5,000 | A portable building was blown over. |
| February 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | - | Multiple large hardwood trees uprooted in Big Sandy. |
| December 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | - | A tree was downed in Big Sandy on Hwy. 155. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | Quarter size hail was reported in Big Sandy, Texas. |
| June 2010 | Flash Flood | Big Sandy | - | Numerous roads were flooded and closed throughout the county. |
| October 2009 | Flash Flood | Big Sandy | - | River Road near the Smith/Upshur County line was closed due to 2 feet of water over the road. |
| October 2009 | Flash Flood | Big Sandy | - | Several county roads were closed due to excessive heavy rainfall. |
| June 2007 | Flash Flood | Big Sandy | - | Intersection of Highway 1002 and Aspen Road underwater and closed. |
| April 2007 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | Hail fell at FM 1002 and 155. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | - | Numerous trees, as many as 50, were downed south of town. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | - | Numerous trees down across the southwest portion of the county. |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | - | Several large trees down. |
| May 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | - | Several large trees and power lines down. |
| March 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | - | Several powerlines toppled. |
| October 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | - | Trees and powerlines toppled along Hwy 80. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sandy | - | Several trees and power lines were toppled resulting in power outages. |
| April 2007 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| March 1999 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| March 1999 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| January 1998 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| February 1997 | Flash Flood | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| April 1997 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| April 1997 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
| April 1993 | Hail | Big Sandy | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center Point | 5.1 miles | 13 | |
| Wilkins | 5.6 miles | 13 | |
| Shady Grove | 6.9 miles | 13 | |
| Pritchett | 7.2 miles | 13 | |
| Phillips | 7.8 miles | 12 | |
| Latch | 8.1 miles | 13 | |
| Mings Chapel | 9.1 miles | 12 | |
| Union Grove | 10.0 miles | 12 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Big Sandy | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q859252 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1330639. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.




