Big Creek is a long creek in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, United States whose headwaters are in Leslie County and that flows into the

Red Bird River The Red Bird River is one of two tributaries at the head of the South Fork of the Kentucky River, the other being the Goose Creek. It is located in the Daniel Boone National Forest in extreme southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky ...

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

. 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. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

named after it was established by James Marcum on 1871-01-10. 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 U.S. Route 421 (also U.S. Highway 421, US 421) is a diagonal northwest–southeast United States Numbered Highway in the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. The highway runs for from Fort Fisher, North Caro ...

, east of

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. Big Creek postoffice has ZIP code 40914. In Leslie County the creek has tributaries Hals Fork (which U.S. 421 parallels), Couch Fork (paralleled by the Parkway), Hollins Fork, Bear Branch ( long), and Ulysses Creek. Couch Fork used to be named Collins Fork, and the Obed postoffice, founded on 1903-01-26 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. A Bear Branch postoffice was established by William Britton on 1923-11-10, named after the branch. Originally located a mere across the county line into Clay, it was moved on 1924-12-02 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 from the Clay county line. A Jason postoffice was established by postmaster Billie Jones to serve Hollins Fork on 1937-01-09. During its lifetime from then until July 1965, it was located in three different places along the fork, above the Bear Branch postoffice, ending up less than from the original site of Obed postoffice. The postmaster's original choice of name, Elim, was disregarded because of potential confusion with an Elem postoffice in Rockcastle County.

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