Big Bay, Illinois

Big Bay is an unincorporated community in Massac County, Illinois, United States. Big Bay is 11.5 miles (18.5 km) north of Metropolis.

CountryUnited States

Elevation

348 ft (106 m)

Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))

Area code618

Quick facts Country, State ...

Big Bay, Illinois
Unincorporated community
Big Bay Show map of Illinois Big Bay Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 37°19′00″N 88°43′18″W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Massac
Elevation	348 ft (106 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code	618
GNIS feature ID	404375[1]

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Big Bay is located in a farming community, and its residents were said to raise nearly all their own food well into the 20th century. Big Bay was a significant timber shipping point on the Illinois Central Railroad, but damage from the 1937 flood caused the town to decline. By 1979 it consisted of "barely a dozen houses."^[2] Residents successfully pushed for the town to have an exit on Interstate 24 when that highway was built in the 1970s. Big Bay reportedly had a post office briefly in 1835.^[3]