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Bay City, Illinois

21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1929 and the latest in 1996. It stands in Jefferson No. 4 precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 62938. It stands on Barren Creek. The Survey maps it on the Smithland quadrangle. It stands 338 feet above sea level.

Bay City within Pope County

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 21 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.

Fires near this place

17 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of Bay City between 1998 and 2018, burning about 114 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/undetermined8
Arson/incendiarism4
Debris and open burning3
Natural2

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
4 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresShawnee National ForestBRASHER CAVE
1 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
26 August 2012Natural1.3 acresShawnee National ForestMEDLEY
1 August 2012Natural18 acresShawnee National ForestAZOTUS
20 June 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
5 April 2017Debris and open burning25 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources2419
22 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources1722
2 April 1998Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresShawnee National ForestMANN LAKE I

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pope County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Bay City: 4 past producers, 3 prospects, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Fluorine-Fluorite, Lead, Zinc, Fluorine-Fluorite, 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
Medeker PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Bay City MineFluorine-Fluorite, Lead, ZincProspect
Bay City MineFluorine-Fluorite, Lead, ZincProspect
Compton MineFluorine-FluoritePast ProducerFluorite, Galena, Sphalerite
Compton MineFluorine-FluoritePast Producer
Bethel Sandstone ExposureStone, Crushed/BrokenProspect
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Mermet Quarry No. 10Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Pope County

Storms near this place

12 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bay City in 12 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 hail, 2 tornado. 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
October 2001Thunderstorm WindBay City$20,000A mobile home was overturned and destroyed.
September 2006Tornado (F1)Bay City$15,000This tornado originated in Pope County and crossed the Ohio River into Livingston County, Kentucky. Two distinct paths of mainly tree damage were found south of Bay City in Pope County. Both showed signs of convergence, and this appeared to be the result of a multiple vortex tornado. The main damage path was about 300 yards wide with peak winds of 80 MPH. The second damage path was about two-tenths of a mile south of the first path and was about 100 yards wide. Peak winds with this path were estimated near 75 MPH. Mainly tree damage was seen with the second vortex. Citizens reported one tornado crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky. A camper on a bluff in the Shawnee National Forest videotaped the tornado after it crossed the river. A radio tower, numerous trees, and some power lines were down in the Bay City area.
May 2003Tornado (F1)Bay City$8,000The tornado first touched down along the Ohio River near the small community of Bay City, then crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky. In and near Bay City, large trees up to 4 feet in diameter were blown down. Some barns and fences were damaged.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindBay City$2,000Two trees were blown down.
July 2009Flash FloodBay City$2,000A driveway was washed out. Extensive flooding of low-lying areas was reported.
February 2025FloodBay City-Minor flooding of bottomland and surrounding low-lying areas occurred near the Smithland Lock and Dam.
April 2011FloodBay City-Due to Ohio River flooding, the floodgates were installed at Golconda. This required that all access roads into and out of Golconda be closed, since those roads pass through the floodwall openings. Schools and government offices were closed due to the effective shutdown of Golconda, the largest town in the county. The Golconda post office was moved to a temporary location outside of town. Residents of the tiny community of Hamletsburg were evacuated. All the residents of Hall Town, which is an unprotected area outside the levee protection system, were evacuated.
July 1997Flash FloodBay City-Radar and satellite data estimated about 2 inches of rain fell in two hours. The Bay City blacktop road was covered by water.
February 2007HailBay City-no account filed
May 2003HailBay City-no account filed
March 1997Flash FloodBay City-no account filed
October 1996Thunderstorm WindBay City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pope 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
Tansill4.5 miles21
Lewis Corner4.7 miles21
Rosebud5.1 miles21
Homberg6.0 miles21
Hodgeville7.5 miles21
Temple Hill8.1 miles21
Golconda8.2 miles23
Hamletsburg8.4 miles21

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 Bay CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4873952The 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 424606. 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.