Indian Bay, Arkansas Explained

Official Name:Indian Bay, Arkansas
Pushpin Map:Arkansas#USA
Pushpin Label:Indian Bay
Pushpin Label Position:left
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Arkansas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Monroe
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Sq Mi:0.40
Area Land Sq Mi:0.38
Area Water Sq Mi:0.02
Population As Of:2020
Population Footnotes:[2]
Population Total:15
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:161
Coordinates:34.3858°N -91.0669°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP Code
Postal Code:72069 (Holly Grove)
Area Code:870
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:2805653
Blank1 Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Info:05-34220

Indian Bay is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southern Monroe County, Arkansas, United States, in the Arkansas Delta. Indian Bay is on the eastern bank of the White River, 4miles east of St. Charles.[3] For purposes of the U.S. Census, Indian Bay is within Montgomery-Smalley Township. The Baytown Site, a Pre-Columbian Native American archaeological site, is located near Indian Bay. The community was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 15.

History

The area of Indian Bay has long been inhabited, as is shown by nine Native American mounds nearby, the largest of which covers more than an acre. Artifacts found in the area are thought to be 1,300 to 1,700 years old, but the site is not open to the public.

Around 1825 white settlers came to the area. Cypress trees were harvested and cotton fields planted. By the mid 19th-century Indian Bay had several stores, a cotton gin and a sawmill, and had developed into a prominent stop for steamboats traveling on the White River. A post office opened at Indian Bay in 1860. Two area cotton plantations thrived. "Lamberton", a few miles north of Indian Bay in the no-longer existing community of Valley Grove, was started by Joel and Judith Lambert from Kentucky, who settled there in 1839. William Mayo arrived in the area around 1853, bringing a large number of slaves and developing a plantation of several thousand acres. The area gained notoriety when Congressman James M. Hinds was murdered there in 1868.

Demographics

2020 census

Indian Bay CDP, Arkansas – Racial and ethnic composition
!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)!Pop 2020[4] !% 2020
White alone (NH)1280.00%
Black or African American alone (NH)16.67%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)00.00%
Asian alone (NH)00.00%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)00.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH)00.00%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)213.33%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)00.00%
Total15100.00%

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Arkansas . June 23, 2022 . United States Census Bureau.
  2. Web site: P1. Race – Indian Bay CDP, Arkansas: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) . June 23, 2022 . U.S. Census Bureau.
  3. Monroe County, Arkansas General Highway Map . 2000 . . December 1, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210126202457/https://www.arkansashighways.com/maps/Counties/County%20PDFs/MonroeCounty.pdf . dead . PDF . January 26, 2021.
  4. Web site: P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Indian Bay CDP, Arkansas . United States Census Bureau.