Bath History
First settled
in 1640, Bath was incorporated as a town in 1781. In 1846, Bath became the third city chartered in the State of
Maine. The business district developed in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s on
an elevated neck of land overlooking the shipyards and wharves. Gradually, the
area around this point was filled, allowing for expansion of the business
district, primarily along Front and Center Streets.
Bath and
shipbuilding developed together. From
the construction of the pinnace Virginia - the first sea-going vessel built in
North America by Englishmen - at Popham in 1607, to the keel laying of the
first ship to be built at the state-of-the-art Land Level Transfer Facility at
Bath Iron Works in 2001, shipbuilding has been central to the region’s
economy.
The 1850’s
were the high point of wooden shipbuilding, with more than twenty shipyards
lining the riverbank, and in 1857, Bath was the fifth leading port in the U.S.
in registered tonnage of vessels. The
coming of steel and steam changed shipbuilding. In 1884 Bath Iron Works, Ltd. was incorporated, launching its
first U.S. Navy vessel in 1891, while the Sewall yard launched the first steel
sailing ship in America in 1894. Wooden
shipbuilding flourished again briefly with the construction of large coal-carrying
schooners, such as the six-masted Wyoming launched in 1909, the largest wooden
schooner ever built. Bath boomed during
each world war as people flocked to work in the shipyards, but went into
recession with each postwar shipbuilding decline. The downtown’s development
reflected the periods of prosperity and decline in the shipbuilding
business.
In 1927 the
Carlton Bridge was built, carrying Route 1 traffic and the railroad across the
Kennebec and eliminating the ferry service from the downtown dock. By the 1940’s the business district was
anchored by J.J. Newberry, F.W. Woolworth, W.T. Grant and Sears Roebuck. It also had six grocery stores, two
department stores, seven men’s clothing stores, twelve beauty parlors, four
jewelers and nine restaurants.
In 1947 a
four-lane highway was constructed that divided the city in two and removed
Route 1 traffic from Center Street, which is one of the principal downtown
streets. In the 1950’s the increasing
use of automobiles led to formation of an independent parking district that
bought many of the older wooden buildings, especially along the waterfront, and
tore them down to create parking lots.
In 1959 the Route 1 viaduct opened carrying most traffic over Bath and
passenger train service ceased.
In the 1960’s
in an attempt to revitalize the downtown and waterfront areas, the City created
an Urban Renewal Authority and sought to participate in the massive federally
funded program that was transforming downtowns across the country. Business had declined in the downtown, the
anchor stores were cramped and parking was limited. A plan was devised to demolish fifty-four buildings to make way
for a new development. After years of
acrimonious debate in 1965, the voters rejected the substantial bond issue
needed to fund the project. Shortly
thereafter all the chain stores announced they were leaving Bath with two
relocating to the Cooks Corner Shopping Center in Brunswick. Local efforts to revitalize the downtown and
waterfront resulted in a few new buildings and renovations to “modernize”
existing buildings.
With the
1970’s came an increasing focus on Bath’s past. The Bath Marine Museum opened exhibits in several locations,
including the former Percy & Small shipyard. This was the only intact shipyard in the U.S. that had built
large wooden vessels such as the Wyoming.
Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc. (SPI) was formed to save the 1843 Gothic
Revival Winter Street Church, which the museum subsequently occupied, and SPI
again stepped in to save the 1847 Gothic Revival Central Church, which was
converted into the Chocolate Church Performing Arts Center. SPI was very influential in developing a
plan for restoring the downtown to a Nineteenth Century appearance. In 1976 a renovation was undertaken by the
City that included installing brick sidewalks with granite curbing,
historically appropriate street lighting reminiscent of Nineteenth Century gas
lamps, plantings and benches. Downtown
property owners and businesses redesigned and restored storefronts with mullioned
windows and appropriate signs replacing plate glass and plastic neon
signs. In 1977 in recognition of the
joint restoration efforts, the National Trust presented its annual President’s
Award to the Chamber of Commerce, the City, SPI and the Maine Maritime Museum.
Many small
local businesses opened in the restored downtown. Large spaces formerly occupied by department or chain stores are
now occupied by Reny’s and R.M. Tate (craft and office supplies and gifts, or
have been divided into smaller spaces.
Former stores that had been converted to offices for BIW have been
returned to retail use. In the era of
“big box” stores and shopping centers, Bath’s downtown still has a diverse mix
of retail shopping and services. Bath
Iron Works has recently completed a multi-million dollar expansion and
modernization of its shipyard that bodes well for the future of the
Shipbuilding City and its downtown.
