City of Bath history

Bath was in York County until 1760, then in Lincoln County until 1854, when Sagadahoc County was formed.

Also, the Alameda, a large entertainment center on the south side of Centre Street between Water and Washington Streets was built in 1882.

At the same time, metal shipbuilding began in Bath with the expansion of Thomas Hyde’s foundry on Water Street and its incorporation as Bath Iron Works, Ltd. in 1884.

1890 The first electric streetlights are switched on in Bath

The first fire, in 1893, destroyed the Columbian Hall and the Columbian Hotel on Front Street between Elm and Summer Streets.

Early in 1894, a second fire devastated the center of downtown, starting in the rear of the Sagadahock House and quickly spreading to destroy the hotel completely along with neighboring buildings on both sides of Front Street and on both sides of Centre Street almost to Water Street.

Henrietta Park opened in 1897.

1904 Electric trams begin to run in the streets

1907 The first council houses are built in Bath

Also in 1910, the false front of the modest picture palace, Dreamland, joined Front Street’s streetscape.

By 1925, shipbuilding had all but stopped in Bath when BIW went into receivership and was sold to a New York firm that salvaged much of its machinery.

Then, in 1927, BIW was resurrected by William S. (Pete) Newell, who turned it into a producer of various utility vessels and luxury yachts just before the Great Depression.

Public buildings are expensive, and Bath found itself with two major projects in 1928.

The resulting congestion led to installation of Bath’s first traffic light at the intersection of Washington and Centre Streets in 1938.

By 1941, six national chain stores anchored the downtown: J. J. Newberry; F. W. Woolworth; W. T. Grant; Sears Roebuck; First National Foods; and the A&P self-serve store.

A raid in April 1942 killed 21 people and damaged or destroyed 1,500 buildings.

A second property, a 400-foot segment of the waterfront between Broad and Summer Streets containing dilapidated buildings left over from ship-building days, was purchased but improvement was delayed while the city debated a 1959 proposal for urban renewal.

The American Museum opened in 1961.

The Maine Maritime Museum (MMM) grew out of the passions of seven individuals who formed the Marine Research Society of Bath in 1962.

The Fashion Museum was founded in 1963.

Bath University was founded in 1964.

Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc. (SPI), a non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation of buildings possessing architectural or historic merit, was founded in 1971, initially for the purpose of saving the Winter Street Congregational Church across from City Park.

The Southgate Centre was built in 1972.

1978 The Bath at Work Museum opens

1979 The Postal Museum opens

The National Centre of Photography was founded in 1981.

1987 The Museum of English Naive Art opens

The Podium Shopping Centre opened in 1989.

1992 The Building of Bath Museum opens

The bridge over the pond was built in 1994.

The present owners took over in 1995 and initiated a refurbishment programme that has transformed the hotel into a modern, attractive and comfortable establishment.

Then in 1997, a Farmers Market opened in Bath.

In 1998, the Patten Free Library significantly expanded the children’s and young adults’ areas and the non-fiction stacks, and also created a new climate-controlled History Room, the current home of Bath Historical Society and its historically important collections.

Finally, the completion of the four-lane Sagadahoc Bridge in 2000, to accommodate the increasing tourist traffic and relieve the congestion during shift changes at a healthy BIW, is both a positive addition and a challenge to the downtown area.

Once that program came to the State of Maine, Bath was one of the first communities chosen to participate in 2001.

And a new non-profit group, Friends of the Zorach Fountain, completed restoration of the “Spirit of the Sea” in 2005.

However, amid renewed interest in spa culture, a new facility, Thermae Bath Spa, was opened (2006) close to the hot springs in a signature building, the construction of which also included restoration of five historic buildings in the city’s traditional spa quarter.

Did you know that a hoard of 17,500 Roman coins was discovered in Bath in 2007? Or that the first ever stamp to be mailed was sent from Bath Post Office?

Marcussen, W. (2019, August 23). The Roman Baths in Bath- A Deep Dive into Britain’s Ancient History.