Bath is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 5,786 at the 2010 census. The village is located in the town of the same name, northwest of Elmira and west of Tyrone. The community was named either for the English city of

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, or for Lady Laura Pulteney, 1st Countess of Bath and daughter of Sir William Pulteney, one of the original landowners. Bath is the location of the Bath VA Medical Center (former old soldiers' home), Bath National Cemetery, and the Steuben County Fair, the oldest continuous fair in the United States.

History

The village was founded in 1793. The village was originally incorporated in 1816, but was not organized until 1836. In addition to the Bath VA Medical Center, the James H. Bolton House, Campbell-Rumsey House, Cobblestone House, Davenport Library, Erie Freighthouse Historic District, The First Baptist Society of Bath, Gansevoort/East Steuben Streets Historic District, George W. Hallock House, Haverling Farm House, Liberty Street Historic District, McMaster House, Henry C. Myrtle House, Potter-Van Camp House, Martin A. Quick House, Reuben Robie House, Sedgwick House, William Shepherd House, United States Post Office, and M. J. Ward Feed Mill Complex are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Carl Carmer's novel "Genesee Fever," treating of the first white settlements in the region, is set largely in Bath. Bath was the site of the land office disposing of 1.2 million acres. In 1804, Captain William Helm, a Virginian, settled in Bath with about 40 slaves, in an attempt to implant the plantation system in New York State.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km²), all land. Liberty-Street-Bath-New-York-USA

The village is adjacent to Interstate 86, a few miles east of the split with Interstate 390. New York State Route 54 intersects New York State Route 415 in the village. County Roads 10 and 13 also lead into Bath. Bath is served by the Bath & Hammondsport Railroad which operates over former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western (DL&W) mainline trackage between a connection with Norfolk Southern in Painted Post, and the company's terminus in Cohocton. (Trackage to Wayland remains in place but is no longer used. Service on the original B&H between Bath and Hammondsport has also been discontinued.) The Erie Railroad's Rochester Division once passed through Bath. The 1960 merger of the Erie and DL&W led to the creation of Erie-Lackawanna which was followed by the elimination of redundant trackage. The Erie line through Bath was abandoned, as was much of the DL&W west of Wayland. The result was a drastic reduction of railroad activity in Bath since traffic could be routed over the parallel ex-Erie mainline through the Canisteo River Valley. Erie-Lackawanna was absorbed into the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) in 1976. In 1999, Conrail lines in the region were acquired by Norfolk Southern. Since then, the Bath & Hammondsport has become a subsidiary of the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville which currently operates the line, though not over any of its original route. Trains operate through Bath five days per week. The Conhocton River flows through Bath, and Lake Salubria is a small artificial lake southeast of the village.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 5,641 people, 2,612 households, and 1,400 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 2,826 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.19%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.38%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.12% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.90% of the population. Bath New York dairy parade

There were 2,612 households, out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.4% were non-families. 40.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.85. In the village, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median income for a household in the village was $28,897, and the median income for a family was $39,114. Males had a median income of $31,685 versus $25,087 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $18,337. About 10.8% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Frank Bowes, former professional baseball player * Ira Davenport, former US Congressman * George Grueb (1835–1893), Medal of Honor recipient in the American Civil War, was buried in Bath. * Edward Howell, former US Congressman * Frank Fernando Jones, former Iowa legislator and businessman * Jermain Wesley Loguen (1813 – 1872), taught the first school for colored in Bath, 1843–1846, and was minister. * John Magee, former US Congressman * Reuben Robie, former US Congressman * David Rumsey, former US Congressman * Edwin S. Underhill, former US Congressman * James A. Wetmore, US acting Supervising Architect * William Woods, former US Congressman

References

External links