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Big Bend, Wisconsin

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1980. It stands in Big Bend Village. It lies in ZIP code area 53103. The Survey maps it on the Muskego quadrangle. 1,483 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 820 feet above sea level.

Big Bend within Waukesha County

On record in Big Bend

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Big Bend grew from 1,290 to 1,483 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,290
20201,483+193 (+15%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 18 printed sheets

Matched 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.

In the county-history sources

10,737 words on this township

The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources; an Extensive and Minute Sketch of Its Cities, Towns and Villages--their Improvements, Industries, Manufactories, Churches, Schools and Societies; Its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States, published 1880 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Big Bend Village covers the township.

Read the chapter on Big Bend Village - 10,737 words.

Fires near this place

32 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 32 fires within 5 miles of Big Bend between 2010 and 2020, burning about 404 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 4 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Debris and open burning7
Arson/incendiarism4
Recreation and ceremony2
Natural2
Equipment and vehicle use2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
28 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources453
9 August 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources186
4 August 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources407
6 July 2020Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources2244
4 July 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources140
30 July 2019Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources417
15 July 2018Arson/incendiarismunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources367
23 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources312

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Waukesha County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Big Bend: 5 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Hales Corners PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Pit 14 and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Valley BlacktopSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Valley PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Valley Pit Hillview S & GSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Waukesha County

Storms near this place

14 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Big Bend in 14 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 5 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2010Tornado (EF1)Big Bend$430,000This EF1 tornado affected the Big Bend and Muskego area, and spun up a little more than 2 miles north of Big Bend about 1/10 of a mile southeast of the intersection of Interstate 43 and STH 164. The tornado moved east, dissipating about 1/2 mile south of Tess Corners, just northwest of the intersection of Woods Road and Durham Drive. The roof of the Tess Corners Fire Department tore off, and the U.S. Post Office building in Muskego was damaged when an air conditioning unit was blown off the roof. Several post office vehicles were also damaged. The building housing Muskego Beer and Liquor was badly damaged when a wall collapsed and destroyed half the building. All together, 35 residential dwellings were minimally affected, and 41 homes sustained minor damage. Seventeen businesses were minimally affected, and 1 sustained major damage. Some crops were damaged, but no information on loss estimates was available. Total estimated private sector damage was about $430,000. Public sector structural damage totaled about $15,000. Additionally, other public service (non-damage) costs totaled $65,000; which included $45,000 for debris clearance, $10,000 for protective measures, and $10,000 for road systems. Hundreds of trees were uprooted or damaged. Starting location point was Lat 42.91015 Lon -88.21483 with the ending point Lat 42.91118 Lon -88.09850. The EF-rating was based on DI 27 (TH) DOD3 which suggests a wind speed of 105 mph. The average path width was 90 yards.
June 1999Tornado (F1)Big Bend$100,000no account filed
July 2010Tornado (EF2)Big Bend$75,000An EF2 tornado developed about 1 mile south of Big Bend, 1/8 mile west of of STH 164 between Henneberry Ave. and Kelsey Ave. The tornado partially uprooted trees, broke tree branches, caused corn crop damage and destroyed a garage and pole shed along a 1 mile path that averaged 70 yards in width. Additionally, it flipped over a camping trailer and carried a tool box about 1/2 mile away. The tornado ended about 1.7 miles southeast of Big Bend, 1/3 mile east-northeast of the intersection of Crowbar Dr. and Parker Dr. The EF2 estimated wind speeds of 115 to 120 mph were based on DI 27(TH) DOD4. The exact start location is Lat 42.86466 and Lon -88.20040. The exact end location is Lat 42.86569 and Lon -88.18079.
August 1998Flash FloodBig Bend$40,000no account filed
November 2020Thunderstorm WindBig Bend$8,000Multiple trees and tree limbs down.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBig Bend$5,000Trees and power lines down.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBig Bend-The public reported an anchored gazebo was blown over by severe thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 65 mph (56 knots).
June 2008Flash FloodBig Bend-Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding as water reached depths of 3 feet or more and several cars stalled. This was one of 3 flash floods in Waukesha County on June 7th. Some crop damage was noted in nearby rural areas around Pewaukee. Another round of heavy rains on June 8th resulted in flash flooding around North Prairie. Collectively, each of these 4 flash floods resulted in home and business damage along with some crop losses. It was nearly impossible to break down the damages by flash flood. Therefore, the collective breakdown is provided in the June 8th StormData entry for Waukesha County.
May 2025HailBig Bend-no account filed
August 2015HailBig Bend-no account filed
November 2015HailBig Bend-no account filed
August 2006HailBig Bend-no account filed
November 2005HailBig Bend-no account filed
September 2001Thunderstorm WindBig Bend-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Waukesha County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Dodges Corners (historical)2.4 miles18
Glen Oaks Estates2.4 miles18
Vernon2.9 miles23
Lake Forest3.0 miles18
Guthrie3.0 miles18
Woodcrest Heights3.3 miles18
Muskego4.0 miles18
Squire Glen Estates5.0 miles18

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 BendAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3314488The 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 1561686. 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.