Bath, Pennsylvania

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Bath, Pennsylvania
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Main Street, Bath, Pennsylvania in May 2025
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Motto(s): 
History, Nestled with Friendship
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Location of Bath in Northampton County, Pennsylvania (left) and of Northampton County in Pennsylvania (right)
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Bath
Location of Bath in Pennsylvania
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Bath
Bath (the United States)
Coordinates: 40°43′36″N75°23′25″W / 40.72667°N 75.39028°W / 40.72667; -75.39028
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
State Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania
County Northampton
Settled1728
Founded1737
IncorporatedFebruary 1st, 1856
Founded byDaniel Craig
Named after Bath, Somerset, England
Government
  MayorFiorella Reginelli Mirabito
  Borough Council PresidentFrank Hesch
Area
[1]
   Borough
0.91 sq mi (2.36 km2)
  Land0.90 sq mi (2.34 km2)
  Water0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation
432 ft (132 m)
Population
 (2020) [2]
   Borough
2,682
  Density2,947/sq mi (1,138/km2)
   Metro
865,310 (US: 68th)
Demonym(s) Bathonian, Bathite
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
18014
Area code(s) 610 and 484
FIPS code 42-04432
Primary airport Lehigh Valley International Airport
Major hospital Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest
School district Northampton Area
Website Borough Website

Bath is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Bath had a population of 2,808. It is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.

Contents

History

Bath is located at the head of the Monocacy Creek in an area of the Lehigh Valley that was once rich in agriculture. The greater area of the town, however, lies east of the Monocacy Valley. [3] Prior to European settlement, Bath was inhabited by the Lenape Indigenous tribe. [4]

Bath was established in 1728 as a Scotch-Irish settlement before the American Revolution as the first settlement by white people in the Forks of the Delaware River. It is named for Bath, Somerset, England by Margaret DeLancey, who sold land under her father, lieutenant colonel of the Continental Army, William Allen, in the 1700s. [3]

On March 3, 1737, the 247 acres of land that is currently inside the boundaries of Bath was purchased and surveyed for Daniel Craig. [5] [ full citation needed ] [3] According to borough historians, this land spans from Chestnut Street to the north of Northampton Street. William Allen conveyed the greater part of Bath's land to his son, Andrew, in 1776, the same year that the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia signed the Declaration of Independence, declaring its freedom from British colonial governance. That same year, Andrew Allen sold 150 acres of the land to John Lattimore. Andrew Allen also owned land west of the Monocacy, which was eventually confiscated and sold to local families in the area. Today, Bath's current acreage is 576 acres and is less than 1 sq. mi. in area. [3]

Southeast of the town, a French and Indian War blockhouse was constructed to fortify the area from potential attacks. It was named Fort Ralston after the name of the farmer whose land it was built on. It is alternatively known as Brown's Fort, after the adjacent landowner. It was established as a fort in 1755, but likely abandoned by the end of the 1760s. Its ruins still remain in a small field south of a warehouse at the intersection of Airport Road and Nor-Bath Blvd known as Franks Corner, Pennsylvania. [6] The ruins include a series of small underground chambers. Only one of the original buildings stand, with the larger barn having collapsed or disassembled sometime after 1916. There is evidence of fire damage to the fort and surrounding trees.

In the early 1900s Bath became the site of a growing cement industry. The Bath Portland Cement Company was the first plant to open, and its kiln can still be seen from Nor-Bath Blvd. The company was later replaced by the Keystone Cement Company, which still operates to this day and is a major employer and pillar of the Bath community. The Penn-Dixie Cement Company also quarried in east Bath, but no longer exists. The property around the quarry and ruins of the former plant are owned by Lehigh Hanson.

The Effort Foundry, a steel foundry from Effort, PA, moved to Bath in the early 1980s and employs around 70 people. [7]


On August 18, 2012, Bath celebrated its 275th anniversary. [5] [ full citation needed ] In 1999, the Bath Business and Community Partnership (BBCP) was established for managing urban revitalization initiatives, including creating a greener town, organizing volunteers, and developing economic restructuring/asset enhancement. [3]

Geography

Bath is located at 40°43′36″N75°23′25″W / 40.72667°N 75.39028°W / 40.72667; -75.39028 (40.726556, -75.390338). [8] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2), all land. Bath is located 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Bethlehem and 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Nazareth.

Bath is also 100 miles (160 km) southwest of New York City and 60 miles (96 km) northwest of Philadelphia. It is also located near Wind Gap as well as the Delaware and Lehigh water gaps. Bath's elevation is 432 feet (132 m) above sea level as of 2011. The Borough is hilly and has many steep roads. There are two peaks in Bath, Hawk Mountain in the northeast, and Siegfried Hill in the southwest, which has been partially quarried out. Monocacy Creek, a tributary of the Lehigh River, flows through the town's center. The East Branch Monocacy also flows through Bath until their convergence further south. Other bodies of water include Penn-Dixie pond (the remains of a former quarry), the quarries at Keystone Cement, and numerous small ponds on the outskirts of town. Many mills operated using the flow of the Monocacy. Race and Mill street are named after them.

Bath stands on a layer of shale, limestone, and slate. The area is also rich in iron. The exploitation of limestone and slate found around bath has historically been a large industry for the town. Keystone Cement Co. holds the largest reserve of limestone deposits in the Lehigh Valley cement district.

Bath lies on the transition zone of the Dfa (humid continental) and Cfa (humid subtropical) climate zones. It has hot, humid summers and cool, snowy winters.

Government

Bath's government involves a mayor, seven council members, and a tax collector. The current mayor is Fiorella ‘Fi’ Reginelli-Mirabito; Frank Hesch is Council President; Michele Ehrgott is Council Vice President. Before Hesch was president, Michele Ehrgott made local history as the first woman to serve as Borough Council President. The town's general budget is $1.6 million with an assessed valuation of over $53.1 million. Bath represents the 138th House of Representatives District, the 16th Senate District, and the 7th Congressional District. [3]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1860 486
1870 70745.5%
1880 698−1.3%
1890 7233.6%
1900 7311.1%
1910 1,05744.6%
1920 1,40132.5%
1930 1,62516.0%
1940 1,7205.8%
1950 1,8246.0%
1960 1,736−4.8%
1970 1,8295.4%
1980 1,9536.8%
1990 2,35820.7%
2000 2,67813.6%
2010 2,6930.6%
2020 2,8084.3%
Sources: [9] [10] [11] [2]

As of the 2021 census estimates, [10] there were 2,682 people living in Bath, a decrease of 0.4% from 2010. There are 1,344 males (50.1%) and 1,338 females (49.9%). The population density was 2,947 people per square mile . There were 1,221 housing units at an average density of 1,357 per square mile. Racially, the borough consists of 79% White, 6.6% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, and 8.2% from two or more races. [12]

The percentage of married families in Bath is 37.7%, cohabitating couples 18.7%, male householders without a partner 15.9%, and female householders without a partner 27.6%. [13] The number of people over the age of 25 with at least a high school diploma is 90.2%. Those with a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.9% and residents with a graduate or professional degree is 5.2%. [14] The unemployment percentage in 2021 was 7%. [15] In 2020, the median income for a household in the borough was $53,250 and the per capita income for the borough was $23,233.

The average house or condo value was $170,900 and the average cost for rent was $1,189. [16] About 14% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line. [15]

Community organizations

Bath is home to several organizations, including American Legion Eckley E. Patch Post 470, the BBCP, the Bath-East Allen Youth Club, Bath Improvements Committee, Bath Museum Committee, Bath Lions Club, Bath Lioness Club, Bath Lions Midget Football Committee, Governor Wolf Historical Society, Historical Architectural Review Board, Mid-County Senior Center, the Park, Recreation, and Shade Tree Commission, and Crime Watch. [3] Also, the Monocacy Creek Watershed Association is active in Bath, which helps protect the Monocacy Creek. They hold creek cleanups and other conservation efforts throughout the year. [17]

The four recreational areas in Bath include the Volunteer Firefighter's Park, Keystone Park, Ciff Cowling Field, and Carl L. Rehrig Park. [3]

Locations

Transportation

PA Route 248 West and PA Route 987 South in Bath 2022-09-29 11 29 21 View west along Pennsylvania State Route 248 and south along Pennsylvania State Route 987 (Main Street) between Chestnut Street and Pennsylvania State Route 329 (Race Street) in Bath, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.jpg
PA Route 248 West and PA Route 987 South in Bath

As of 2007, there were 10.79 miles (17.36 km) of public roads in Bath, of which 4.65 miles (7.48 km) were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and 6.14 miles (9.88 km) were maintained by the borough. [23]

Numbered highways passing through Bath include Pennsylvania Route 248, Pennsylvania Route 329, Pennsylvania Route 512 and Pennsylvania Route 987. PA 248 follows an east-west alignment through the borough via West Main Street, Chestnut Street and Northampton Street. PA 329 begins at PA 248 and heads southwest along Race Street. PA 512 follows a north-south alignment via Walnut Street. Finally, PA 987 follows a north-south alignment via Race Street, West Main Street and Chestnut Street, including a concurrency with PA 329 and another with PA 248.

Bath was once home to a trolley line that went to Nazareth. There was also the Northampton and Bath railroad, a local line that ran between Bath and Northampton for 8 miles and is now a biking and walking path since it shut down in 1978. One mile of track is still used by local businesses located on Atlas cement grounds. [24]

Education

The borough is served by the Northampton Area School District. Students in grades nine through 12 attend Northampton Area High School in Northampton.

The borough is also home to George Wolf Elementary School, which opened in 1968. It has twenty-three classrooms, a library, music room and a multipurpose room. In 1974, additions were added that included a gymnasium and twelve more classrooms. They also have three Intermediate Unit #20 classrooms. George Wolf Elementary School is named after George Wolf, a local resident and Governor of Pennsylvania from 1829 to 1835. He is known as the father of the free public school system in Pennsylvania because of his effort in passing of the Free School Act of 1834. His original Wolf Academy is located approximately one mile from the school.

In 1920, Sacred Heart Catholic School opened on Washington Street. It closed in 2020 in its centennial. As of 2022, Kolbe Academy Recovery High School is now located at the former Sacred Heart School. It is the first Catholic recovery school in the United States.

Media

The Home News is a weekly newspaper focusing on Bath and surrounding communities. It was first published in 1942.

The Borough runs a YouTube channel which gives monthly news updates and coverage of local events.

Notable people

References

  1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kearns, John (August 2, 2013). "Bath Borough Web Page" . Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  4. "Welcome". Native-Land.ca. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Lehigh Valley news, Easton news, Bethlehem news, Allentown news, Phillipsburg news and Lehigh Valley sports & weather" . Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  6. "Indian Outbreak of 1763". USGenWeb Archives. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  7. https://effortfoundry.com/history/
  8. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  9. "Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  10. 1 2 "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  11. "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  12. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  13. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  14. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  15. 1 2 "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  16. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  17. "Monocacy Creek Watershed Association". LV Watershed Coalition. September 22, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  18. Kearns, John. "Bath Farmers Market" . Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  19. ""275 YEARS OF HISTORY"". The Bath Museum. Archived from the original on August 18, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  20. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  21. "Steckel House B&B and Antiques". 2005. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  22. "Sacred Heart Parish | Catholic Church Bath, PA". Sacred Heart Church.
  23. "Bath Borough map" (PDF). PennDOT. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  24. "Taking a ride on N&B Railroad | Lehigh Valley Press".