The Founding of Bath
Text from the plaque
Settlement of this village, one of Ontario's oldest communities, began in 1784 when discharged soldiers from Jessup's Rangers, a Loyalist corps, took up land grants in the vicinity. The sheltered harbour here provided easy access stimulating the growth of a community. Connected to Kingston by an early waterfront road, the hamlet, called Ernestown, contained a tavern, a church and an academy by 1811. A significant shipbuilding industry developed and in 1816 the "Frontanac", the first steamboat in Upper Canada, was launched from a local shipyard. Two years later the settlement was officially renamed Bath. Incorporated as a village in 1859, it prospered as a commercial, shipping and industrial centre well into the 1870s. Today Bath 's thriving past is reflected in its many distinctive 19th century buildings.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The County of Lennox & Addington
The Township of Loyalist
In Bath, in a park on the northeast corner of
Main Street (Highway 33) and Fairfield Street
a block east of Church Street (Road 7)
N 44 11.001 W 76 46.489
Recorded December 2010. Check current access before visiting.
More information
More views
Where it stands
