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'Bath' is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. It was incorporated as a separate town in 1780, having been part of Georgetown since 1753. The first settlement by Europeans was roughly in 1660, when land titles were purchased from an Indian sagamore known as "Robinhood".^[1]

Contents

Shipbuilding and Shipping

Education

Geography

Demographics

Misc

Notable Residents

See also

External links

References

Shipbuilding and Shipping

It has been a shipbuilding center since colonial times, and is located upriver on the Kennebec from the site of the former Popham Colony, which built the ''Virginia of Sagadahoc'', the first oceangoing vessel built in the New World by English-speaking shipwrights. Since then, roughly 5,000 vessels have been launched in the area, and at one time more than 200 shipbuilding firms were located there. Bath was America's fifth largest seaport in the mid-1800s. Today it is the location of the Bath Iron Works shipyard, which has built hundreds of wooden and steel vessels, mostly warships for the U.S. Navy.

Education

The Bath School Department consists of four public schools: Dike-Newell Elementary (grades k-3), Fisher-Mitchell Elementary (grades 3-5), Bath Middle School and Morse High School. Morse has the oldest and most active alumni association in the U.S. Bath is also home to Hyde School, a private boarding school.

Geography

Location of city of 'Bath' in state of Maine

Bath is located at (43.916293, -69.822565).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.3 km² (13.2 mi²). 23.6 km² (9.1 mi²) of it is land and 10.7 km² (4.1 mi²) of it (31.12%) is water.

Demographics

''Public Library,'' c. 1920, Bath, ME

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,266 people, 4,042 households, and 2,344 families residing in the city. The population density was 392.7/km² (1,016.8/mi²). There were 4,383 housing units at an average density of 185.8/km² (481.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.92% White, 1.60% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.76% of the population.
There were 4,042 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.91.

''Erudition Schoolhouse,'' built in 1794, Bath, ME

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,372, and the median income for a family was $45,830. Males had a median income of $35,064 versus $22,439 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,112. About 9.3% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Misc

Parts of the 1999 movie, Message in a Bottle, were filmed in Bath, and several city landmarks are briefly visible in exterior shots in the film. Scenes from The Man Without a Face, a 1993 movie, were also filmed in Bath, notably the trial scene, which uses the Bath City Hall auditorium.
Bath attracts people from all over the state over the 4th of July, for their Heritage Days festival.

Notable Residents

★ William King, 1^st Governor of Maine

★ Harold M. Sewall, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Hawaii

★ Sumner Sewall, 58^th Governor of Maine

See also

★ Brunswick, Maine

★ Bath Iron Works

★ ''Cheseborough'' was a Bath-built ship wrecked in Japan, an event which led to a sister-city relationship between Bath and the Japanese city of Shariki (now Tsugaru).

★ Fort St George (Popham Colony)

External links

★ http://xmapweb.delorme.com/SABath/XMap.asp

★ Official site Main Street Bath, Maine

★ Official site of The City of Bath, Maine

★ Maine Maritime Museum

★ Patten Free Library, Bath, Maine

★ Aerial photo

★ Maine's First Ship, a project to reconstruct the ''Virginia''

★

References

1. Maine: A Guide 'Down East', , , Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums, Courier-Gazette, Inc., 1970,