Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bath

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
A+History
History · Bath

Bath dates to 1761, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1790.

1761founded
5on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bath’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bath began

When was Bath founded?

1761

Bath dates its founding to 1761 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 498 in 17902020 census: 1,077265 years

How historic is Bath?

A+

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bath’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bath is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bath’s overall grade.
Founding era1761, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194029.2% of homes (±9.6) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register5 listings, 45.6 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 95%
NewerOlder

New Hampshire towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Hampshire town has 9.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bath’s 45.6 sits above most of its state (75% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.6 points). Two sources give 1761.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Bath’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,627 in 1830; 1,077 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Bath, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1761, 15 years before the Declaration of Independence.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · People over time

Bath, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80018001850190019502000Peak: 1,627

Peaked at 1,627 in 1830; 1,077 people lived here in 2020.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bath’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Bath’s post office has been open since 1802. Another post office, Swiftwater, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bath
1802–today
Swiftwater
1872–1902
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
NutterPettyboroSwiftwaterUpper VillageWest Bath
Gone or out of use
Carbee SchoolschoolNutter SchoolschoolPettyboro SchoolschoolWest Bath Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bath
BathCarbeeHammPettyboro DistrictSaint JosephsSwiftwater District

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Timeline

Bath, 1761 to 1929

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1761
    FoundingBath is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1802Born hereJames Hutchins Johnson is born here
  5. 1802Post officeThe Bath post office opens
  6. 1820Born hereAdeline Morrison Swain is born here
  7. 1822Born hereE. Carleton Sprague is born here
  8. 1830CensusPopulation peaks at 1,627
  9. 1838Born hereJohn S. Stevens is born here
  10. 1872Post officeThe Swiftwater post office opens
  11. 1898In the archiveMt. Clay and Mt. Washington from Twin Rivers, N. H
  12. 20th century
  13. 1902Post officeThe Swiftwater post office closes
  14. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Bath came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bath.

Read it all →

The town was granted to the Rev. Andrew Gardner and 61 others on September 10, 1761, by Governor Benning Wentworth, who named it for the politician William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath. It was first settled in 1765 by John Herriman from Haverhill, Massachusetts. But the terms of the original grant were unfulfilled, so Bath was regranted on March 29, 1769, by Governor John Wentworth. The first census, taken in 1790, recorded 493 residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Bath, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Mt. Clay and Mt. Washington from Twin Rivers, N. H1898Mt. Clay and Mt. Washington from Twin Rivers, N. H
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown4 to date
Bird's-eye View ofDate?Bird's-eye View ofBrickStore BathNewHampshireDate?BrickStore BathNewHampshireBath Bridge, Spanning Ammonoosuc River, Lisbon RoadDate?Bath Bridge, Spanning Ammonoosuc River, Lisbon RoadWoods-Goodale Law Offices, U. S. Route 302Date?Woods-Goodale Law Offices, U. S. Route 302
Today12 recent
Bath NH 5-26-262026Bath NH 5-26-26White Mountain National Forest - panoramio (5)2014White Mountain National Forest - panoramio (5)White Mountain National Forest - panoramio (4)2014White Mountain National Forest - panoramio (4)War Memorial - panoramio (21)2014War Memorial - panoramio (21)The Brick Store Bath NH 52014The Brick Store Bath NH 5Bath, NH 52014Bath, NH 5Bath Library and Post Office 52014Bath Library and Post Office 5Bath Congregational Church 52014Bath Congregational Church 5SteeplejackBathNH2013SteeplejackBathNHBathNH JeremiahHutchinsTavern2013BathNH JeremiahHutchinsTavernBathNH GrangeHallAndLibrary2013BathNH GrangeHallAndLibraryBathNH Center2013BathNH Center
On the map

Bath on the map, 1929 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bath. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bath on the 1929 USGS mapBath on the 1932 USGS mapBath on the 1967 USGS mapBath on the 1988 USGS mapBath on the 1995 USGS map1929Moosilauke sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bath.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Mt. Clay and Mt. Washington from Twin Rivers, N. H
Retake this viewMt. Clay and Mt. Washington from Twin Rivers, N. H, 1898

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bath’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Bath

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Bath Covered Bridge
Bath Covered BridgeSwiftwater Covered BridgeGoodall-Woods Law OfficeJeremiah Hutchins TavernBrick Store
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Federal2
Georgian1
Greek Revival1
Bath Covered BridgeStructure
Swiftwater Covered BridgeStructure
Goodall-Woods Law OfficeBuilding
Jeremiah Hutchins TavernGeorgian
Brick StoreFederal

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Bath

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Adeline Morrison SwainAmerican writer, politician and suffragist · b. 1820
J
James Hutchins JohnsonAmerican politician · b. 1802
John S. StevensAmerican lawyer and postmaster · b. 1838
E. Carleton SpragueAmerican politician · b. 1822
F
Francis H. GoodallAmerican Civil War Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1838
Lilian C. StreeterAmerican social reformer, clubwoman, and author · b. 1854
Help out

Start Bath’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bath’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMt. Clay and Mt. Washington from Twin R…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MonroeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHaverhill4 historic placesA+Woodsville2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLandaffIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLymanIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bath’s history

What year was Bath founded?

In 1761, according to Wikidata. Bath’s post office opened in 1802, and the first U.S. census counted 498 people here in 1790.

How does Bath rank for history?

Bath is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Bath?

5 listings: 3 buildings and 2 structures.

How old are the homes in Bath?

29% of Bath’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.6 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1978.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.