The story
Read it all →How Bath Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Bath Township.
A post office called Bath was established in 1881. The community's name is derived from Bath, England.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Bath Township
Bath Township’s post office opened in 1881, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1895 on.
1881first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How Bath Township began
When was Bath Township founded?
1881
The Bath Township post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.
2020 census: 742145 years
Founding year: the first Bath Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Bath Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Bath Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bath Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Bath Township on the map, 1895 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bath Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1895Aberdeen sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bath Township.
Timeline
Bath Township, 1881 to 1910
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1881Post officeThe Bath post office opens
- 1895
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1910
In the archiveAt scene of mill. Wreck at Bath, So. Dak
By decade
Bath Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1910s1 item
1920s–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 albumThen & 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.
Retake this viewAt scene of mill. Wreck at Bath, So. Dak, 1910
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bath Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Bath Township
Nobody well known was born in Bath Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
D
Debra MooneyAmerican actress · b. 1947
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BathBath CornerJobee Acres
1cemetery inside Bath Township
Sunset Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Bath Township’s history
What year was Bath Township founded?
The Bath Township post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.