Seniors Enjoy Bath

Bath, the county seat in Sagadahoc County, Maine has a population just over 8,400. The city is popular with tourists, senior visitors drawn by its 19th-century architecture. It is commonly known as “The City of Ships”.

Abenaki Indians called the area Sagadahoc, meaning “mouth of big river.” It was a reference to the Kennebec River, which Samuel de Champlain explored in 1605. Most of Bath, Maine, was settled by travelers from Bath, England, and thus the name.

Bath is known as home of the world-class shipbuilder, Bath Iron Works. The HENRY B. HYDE, a three-masted full-rigged wooden ship, and the six-masted schooner WYOMING, the largest of their kind ever built in America, were constructed in Bath.

Seniors Discover A Shipbuilding Town

Several industries developed in the city, including lumber, iron and brass, with trade in ice and coal. But Bath is renowned for shipbuilding, which began in 1743 when Jonathan Philbrook and his sons built 2 huge ships. Since then, roughly 5,000 vessels have been launched in the area, which at one time had more than 200 shipbuilding firms.

Bath became the nation’s fifth largest seaport by the mid-19th century, producing clipper ships that sailed to ports around the world. “Shipyards once lined the river’s edge where bald eagles fly over the ice flows moving upstream, where striper bass run in the spring, fireworks light the summer sky, and the rich colors of autumn reflect in the water. Bath’s vessels have sailed the seas of the world, hugged the American coasts, and even carried timber-framed homes to the colonial West Indies and other Bath-built ships to Gold-Rush California.”

Bath won the 2012 Great American Main Street Award, a program originated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. TripAdvisor has been to Bath and has 16 attractions not to be missed, including the Maine Maritime Museum.

Senior Birders Enjoy Bath

Bath is flanked by two of Maine’s most beautiful sandy beaches: Reid State Park and Popham Beach State Park. Senior bird watchers can visit the Josephine Newman Wildlife Sanctuary, the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area, Hamilton or Butler’s Head Sanctuaries, or Montsweag Preserve. Eagles and osprey are frequent visitors to the Kennebec River area. In autumn senior visitors can see awesome colorful foliage as well.

My wife and I are big B&B fans. The Benjamin F. Packard House, beautifully restored as a B&B, was built in 1790, and is located in the heart of Bath’s Historic District. Maybe check it out for a couple of nights in Bath.

Beautiful Downtown Bath has a unique mix of services, shops, and restaurants. Stroll down Front and Centre Streets, along the 19th century brick buildings and narrow streets, and feel a comfortable pace and friendly pedestrian atmosphere. It is a great walking city.

Seniors, set your GPS for Bath, Maine and enjoy a few days in this charming town. -jeb