Big Bay, Michigan
Location of Big Bay, Michigan
Coordinates: 46°48′50″N 87°43′33″W / 46.81389, -87.72583
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Marquette
Area
- Total	6.0 sq mi (15.4 km²)
- Land	3.8 sq mi (9.9 km²)
- Water	2.1 sq mi (5.5 km²)
Elevation	682 ft (208 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	265
- Density	69.2/sq mi (26.7/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	49808
Area code(s)	906
FIPS code	26-08180[1]
GNIS feature ID	0621285[2]

Aerial view of the harbor at Big Bay, Michigan

Interior of the Thunder Bay Inn

Big Bay is an unincorporated community in Marquette County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a Census-designated place (CDP) used for statistical purposes and does not have any legal status as a municipality. As of the 2000 census, the community population was 265. The community is located within Powell Township near the shore of "Big Bay" on Lake Superior.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15.4 km²), of which, 3.8 square miles (9.9 km²) of it is land and 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²) of it (35.63%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 265 people, 129 households, and 86 families residing in the community. The population density was 69.2 per square mile (26.7/km²). There were 300 housing units at an average density of 78.3/sq mi (30.2/km²). The racial makeup of the community was 96.23% White, 2.26% Native American, and 1.51% from two or more races.

There were 129 households out of which 15.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 3.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.47.

In the community the population was spread out with 15.1% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 37.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51 years. For every 100 females there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.3 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $34,750, and the median income for a family was $42,708. Males had a median income of $35,417 versus $24,375 for females. The per capita income for the community was $18,620. About 7.9% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under the age of eighteen and 4.6% of those sixty five or over.

Culture

Big Bay's "claim to fame" is the filming of Anatomy of a Murder in 1959. Filming took place at The Thunder Bay Inn, the Big Bay Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast, The Lumberjack (scene of the real crime on which the film is based), Perkins Park Campground, and various other locales.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• BigBayOnline.com
• When Hollywood Came to the UP
• Thunder Bay Inn Bed & Breakfast
• Live Weather Big Bay, Michigan
• Musician-actor keeps his connection to U.P. strong

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Marquette County, Michigan
County seat: Marquette
Cities	Ishpeming | Marquette | Negaunee
Charter townships	Chocolay | Marquette
Civil townships	Champion | Ely | Ewing | Forsyth | Humboldt | Ishpeming | Michigamme | Negaunee | Powell | Republic | Richmond | Sands | Skandia | Tilden | Turin | Wells | West Branch
Unincorporated communities	Big Bay | Gwinn | Harvey | K. I. Sawyer AFB | Michigamme | Palmer | Republic | Trowbridge Park | West Ishpeming

Coordinates: 46°48′57″N, 87°43′42″W