The Bath Historic District encompasses the historic 19th-century business district of

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...

, along with an adjacent period neighborhood. The city has a long history as one of the nation's preeminent shipbuilding centers. The district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973.

Description and history

What is now the city of Bath was first settled by Europeans in mid-17th century, and was from an early date recognized as an ideal spot for shipbuilding. It is set on a stretch of the lower Kennebec River that was originally called Long Reach, because it could be sailed without changing the rigging. The town was incorporated as Bath in 1781, named after

Bath, England Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the ceremonial counties of England, county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 1 ...

. In the 19th century the city grew up on the west bank of the river, with the banks lined by shipyards. West of the river neighborhoods grew up north and south of a central business district, now located just north of

United States Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

. The neighborhood north of the downtown area is where some of it finest early residential architecture is to be found. The city's fortunes started to decline with the advent of steel ships, but the 1889 founding of the

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest de ...

(now the city's only shipyard), and its success as a major shipbuilder for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

buoyed the local economy. The historic district is bounded on the south by US 1 and Centre Street, on the west by High Street, the north by Beacon Street, and the east by the Kennebec River. The downtown is located in the southeastern part of this area, and includes fine mid-19th buildings such as the former United States Customhouse and Post Office, designed by

Ammi B. Young Ammi Burnham Young (June 19, 1798 – March 14, 1874) was a 19th-century American architect whose commissions transitioned from the Greek Revival to the Neo-Renaissance styles. His design of the second Vermont State House brought him fame and su ...

and built in 1853–58, the Sagadahoc County Courthouse, built 1869 to a design by

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

architect Francis H. Fassett, and the Italianate 1863 Church Block. The residential areas to the north and west include fine examples of Italianate and Greek Revival architecture.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Georgian architecture in Maine Victorian architecture in Maine Buildings and structures in Bath, Maine National Register of Historic Places in Sagadahoc County, Maine

Description and history

See also

References