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The Commemorative
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The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





Welcome to Big Bay ...

Big Bay is located in the central region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP).

Big Bay is located in Marquette County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Big Bay, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1902.

Big Bay is 680 feet [207 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Big Bay lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you leave Big Bay and travel south, you will leave Eastern Time and cross into the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT).

Area Code for Big Bay: 906

The ZIP code for Big Bay: 49808<3>

Communities Also Named Big Bay ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 6 communities that are also named Big Bay - they are located in British Columbia, Illinois, New York, Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario (2).

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Bay.

Communities near Big Bay ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Big Bay.

  • Dodge City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodge City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
    • Dodge City is located in Marquette County
  • Buckroe
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Buckroe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckroe
    • Buckroe is located in Marquette County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Buckroe
    • From Big Bay to Buckroe
  • Forestville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Forestville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
    • Forestville is located in Marquette County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Forestville
    • From Big Bay to Forestville
  • Sugar Loaf
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sugar Loaf. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Loaf
    • Sugar Loaf is located in Marquette County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sugar Loaf
    • From Big Bay to Sugar Loaf
  • Barnes - Hecker Mine ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Clowry
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clowry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clowry
    • Clowry is located in Marquette County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Clowry
    • From Big Bay to Clowry
  • Diorite
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Brookton Corners
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenwood
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Ishpeming
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Big Bay. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Big Bay.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Big Bay. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Bay.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Bay. See our Newspapers Page for Big Bay.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Big Bay ...

Looking for more information about Big Bay? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Big Bay, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Big Bay.

Adding Big Bay to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Big Bay in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Big Bay was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

X2X - From that list, the Big Bay post office opened in 1902.

We also found Big Bay on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Michigan (1911).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Big Bay.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Big Bay. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Marquette County: www.co.marquette.mi.us/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Michigan's counties, including Marquette, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Big Bay - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Big Bay). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Big Bay or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<5>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 14 Jul 2025