Big Stick was an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Raleigh County,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, United States. It lies along County Route 3/2, beside

Winding Gulf Winding Gulf is a long tributary of the Guyandotte River in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Winding Gulf is part of the Mississippi River watershed via the Guyandotte and Ohio Rivers, and drains an area of in a rural area on the Allegheny Plate ...

. This community is part of the

Winding Gulf Coalfield The Winding Gulf Coalfield is located in western Raleigh County and eastern Wyoming County, in southern West Virginia. It is named after the Winding Gulf stream, a tributary of the Guyandotte River. In the early 20th century, it was promoted as ...

in Raleigh County.

Name

This community got its name from

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

's Big Stick Policy, which was based on a

West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Ma ...

proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

References

Unincorporated communities in Raleigh County, West Virginia Unincorporated communities in West Virginia Coal towns in West Virginia {{RaleighCountyWV-geo-stub