Bath

History

Bath is located at the head of the Monocacy Creek in an area of the Lehigh Valley that was once rich in agriculture. The greater area of the town, however, lies east of the Monocacy Valley. Prior to European settlement, Bath was inhabited by the Lenape Indigenous tribe. Bath was established in 1728 as a Scotch-Irish settlement before the American Revolution as the first settlement by white people in the Forks of the Delaware River. It is named for Bath, Somerset, England by Margaret DeLancey, who sold land under her father, lieutenant colonel of the Continental Army, William Allen, in the 1700s. The ruins include a series of small underground chambers. Only one of the original buildings stand, with the larger barn having collapsed or disassembled sometime after 1916. There is evidence of fire damage to the fort and surrounding trees. In the early 1900s Bath became the site of a growing cement industry. The Bath Portland Cement Company was the first plant to open, and its kiln can still be seen from Nor-Bath Blvd. The company was later replaced by the Keystone Cement Company, which still operates to this day and is a major employer and pillar of the Bath community. The Penn-Dixie Cement Company also quarried in east Bath, but no longer exists. The property around the quarry and ruins of the former plant are owned by Lehigh Hanson. The Effort Foundry, a steel foundry from Effort, PA, moved to Bath in the early 1980s and employs around 70 people. On August 18, 2012, Bath celebrated its 275th anniversary. In 1999, the Bath Business and Community Partnership (BBCP) was established for managing urban revitalization initiatives, including creating a greener town, organizing volunteers, and developing economic restructuring/asset enhancement.

Geography

Bath is located at (40.726556, -75.390338). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land. Bath is located north of Bethlehem and west of Nazareth. Bath is also 100 miles (160 km) southwest of New York City and 60 miles (96 km) northwest of Philadelphia. It is also located near Wind Gap as well as the Delaware and Lehigh water gaps. Bath's elevation is above sea level as of 2011. The Borough is hilly and has many steep roads. There are two peaks in Bath, Hawk Mountain in the northeast, and Siegfried Hill in the southwest, which has been partially quarried out. Monocacy Creek, a tributary of the Lehigh River, flows through the town's center. The East Branch Monocacy also flows through Bath until their convergence further south. Other bodies of water include Penn-Dixie pond (the remains of a former quarry), the quarries at Keystone Cement, and numerous small ponds on the outskirts of town. Many mills operated using the flow of the Monocacy. Race and Mill street are named after them. Bath stands on a layer of shale, limestone, and slate. The area is also rich in iron. The exploitation of limestone and slate found around bath has historically been a large industry for the town. Keystone Cement Co. holds the largest reserve of limestone deposits in the Lehigh Valley cement district. Bath lies on the transition zone of the Dfa (humid continental) and Cfa (humid subtropical) climate zones. It has hot, humid summers and cool, snowy winters.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,848
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  20,580
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,952
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  17,566
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,317
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  16,642
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,393
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,635

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2024-05-24
  6 km E of Califon, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-05-01
  1 km NW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-04-27
  7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-04-10
  5 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 3.7 — 2024-04-05
  7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-04-05
  6 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey