The Founding of Bath

Commemoration

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.