Bath (Berkeley Springs), West Virginia
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Bath is a town in Morgan County, West Virginia. It is incorporated as Bath, but is referred to by the name of its post office, Berkeley Springs. The population was 663 at the 2000 census.
The town was a popular resort area during the early years of the United States. The mineral springs drew many visitors from metropolitan areas. Notable visitors to the area included George Washington and James Rumsey. Berkeley Springs is a sister city to Bath, England and features an authentic British castle that overlooks the town known as "Berkeley Castle".
History
In 1748, George Washington, then just 16 years old, was part of the survey party the surveyed the Eastern Panhandle region for Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. He later returned several times over the next several years with his half-brother, Laurence, who was ill and hoped that the warm springs might improve his health. The springs, and their rumored medicinal benefits, attracted numerous Native Americans as well as Europeans to the area.While vacationing in the area in 1767, Washington made note of how busy the town had become. Lord Fairfax had built a summer home there and a "private bath" making the area a popular destination for Virginia's social elite. As the town continued to grow, the Virginia General Assembly decided to formally recognize it. In October 1776, the town was officially named Bath, in honor of England's spa city of Bath. The town's main north-south street was named Washington and the main east-west street was named Fairfax. Also, seven acres (28,000 m²) were set aside for "suffering humanity." When West Virginia gained statehood, that area became West Virginia's first state park, Berkeley Springs State Park.
Bath's population increased during and immediately after the American Revolutionary War as wounded soldiers and others came to the area believing that the warm springs had medicinal qualities. Bath gained a reputation as a somewhat wild town where eating, drinking, dancing and, gambling on the daily horse races were the order of the day.
Bath later became known as Berkeley Springs, primarily because the town's post office took that name (combining Governor Norborne Berkeley's last name with the warm springs found there) to avoid confusion with another post office, located in southeastern Virginia, which was already called Bath. Because the mail was sent to and from Berkeley Springs, that name slowly took precedence.
Geography
Bath is located at (39.625562, -78.226862)[Geographic references#1GR1].According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 663 people, 331 households, and 160 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,023.9/km² (2,706.0/mi²). There were 379 housing units at an average density of 585.3/km² (1,546.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.13% White, 1.66% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.30% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.60% of the population.
There were 331 households out of which 20.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.4% were non-families. 46.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 25.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.85.
The age distribution is 19.5% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 80.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $24,934, and the median income for a family was $33,333. Males had a median income of $25,156 versus $23,611 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,917. About 13.4% of families and 18.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 15.7% of those age 65 or over.
Famous residents
Current:- Joe Nichols, musician
- James Rumsey, early steamboat inventor
External links
- [Official Website of Berkeley Springs]
- [Berkeley Springs State Park]
- [Berkeley Springs - Morgan County Chamber of Commerce]
- [Berkeley Springs High School]
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