Bath is a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

in south-east

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. It is named after the British city of the same name. Bath Fountain and Bath Botanical Gardens are located in the town of Bath.

History

Bath Fountains

According to legend the baths were discovered in the 17th century by a runaway slave suffering from ulcers on his leg. He stumbled across the spring and washed his wounded limb in the water. He noticed the next day that his leg began to rapidly heal. News of the healing fountain spread and soon the spring (then named "The Bath of St Thomas the Apostle") attracted visitors from all over Jamaica. In 1699 Colonel Stanton (the owner of the land on which the spring stood) sold the 1,130 acre estate to the Government of Jamaica. The Government developed the fountain and built a hospital on the site offering free treatment using the magical waters. Guest houses sprang up nearby and many wealthy merchants built homes here, establishing Bath as a fashionable spa town. Over the years the spa fell out of favor and has fallen into a state of disrepair.

Bath Botanical Gardens

The Bath Botanical Gardens were established in 1779 through a Statute of the Jamaican House of Assembly. The gardens were established to give visitors to the Bath Mineral Spa a tranquil environment to relax in. These are the second oldest botanical gardens in the Western Hemisphere, being established 14 years after the botanical gardens on the island of

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

. Many foreign plants were planted in the Bath Botanical Gardens when they were first introduced in Jamaica, including

ackee The ackee, also known as ankye, achee, akee, ackee apple or ayee (''Blighia sapida'') is a fruit of the Sapindaceae (soapberry) family, as are the lychee and the longan. It is native to tropical West Africa. The scientific name honours Captain W ...

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...

and otaheite apples. It is believed that Jamaica's first breadfruit trees were brought to Bath by Captain Bligh in 1793 and that several other exotic species were introduced in 1782 following the capture of a French vessel by Admiral Rodney.

References

Populated places in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica 1699 establishments in the British Empire {{Jamaica-geo-stub