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.
Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 21 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.
- 1929 USGS Smithland quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1936 USGS Smithland quadrangle1:48000
- 1942 USGS Smithland quadrangle1:62500
- 1949 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Smithland quadrangle1:24000
- 1961 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1967 USGS Smithland quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1984 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:100000
- 1986 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:100000
- 1987 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000
- 1996 USGS Smithland quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
17 since 1998Regional 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/undetermined | 8 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Shawnee National Forest | BRASHER CAVE |
| 1 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 26 August 2012 | Natural | 1.3 acres | Shawnee National Forest | MEDLEY |
| 1 August 2012 | Natural | 18 acres | Shawnee National Forest | AZOTUS |
| 20 June 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 5 April 2017 | Debris and open burning | 25 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2419 |
| 22 April 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 1722 |
| 2 April 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Shawnee National Forest | MANN LAKE I |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medeker Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Bay City Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite, Lead, Zinc | Prospect | ||
| Bay City Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite, Lead, Zinc | Prospect | ||
| Compton Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite | Past Producer | Fluorite, Galena, Sphalerite | |
| Compton Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite | Past Producer | ||
| Bethel Sandstone Exposure | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Prospect | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Mermet Quarry No. 10 | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
12 since 1996Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bay City | $20,000 | A mobile home was overturned and destroyed. |
| September 2006 | Tornado (F1) | Bay City | $15,000 | This 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 2003 | Tornado (F1) | Bay City | $8,000 | The 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 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bay City | $2,000 | Two trees were blown down. |
| July 2009 | Flash Flood | Bay City | $2,000 | A driveway was washed out. Extensive flooding of low-lying areas was reported. |
| February 2025 | Flood | Bay City | - | Minor flooding of bottomland and surrounding low-lying areas occurred near the Smithland Lock and Dam. |
| April 2011 | Flood | Bay 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 1997 | Flash Flood | Bay 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 2007 | Hail | Bay City | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Bay City | - | no account filed |
| March 1997 | Flash Flood | Bay City | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bay City | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tansill | 4.5 miles | 21 | |
| Lewis Corner | 4.7 miles | 21 | |
| Rosebud | 5.1 miles | 21 | |
| Homberg | 6.0 miles | 21 | |
| Hodgeville | 7.5 miles | 21 | |
| Temple Hill | 8.1 miles | 21 | |
| Golconda | 8.2 miles | 23 | |
| Hamletsburg | 8.4 miles | 21 |
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 City | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4873952 | 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 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.













