Bath & Around

Introducing Bath & Around

Called ‘mouth of the big river’ (Sagadahoc) by the Abenaki tribe, Bath is a small, historic Midcoast town set on a wide stretch of the Kennebec River. Red brick sidewalks and solid 19th-century buildings line its quaint Main Street, while just downhill lies a small grassy park overlooking the water. Its picturesque back streets seem a world away from the enormous Bath Iron Works a little downriver, but in fact this large complex is merely the latest incarnation of Bath’s rich shipbuilding tradition.

Back in the early colonial days, the forested coasts of Maine were thick with tall trees that made flawless masts for the king’s navy. Indeed, for a time the king forbade anyone to cut Maine’s trees for any other purpose. In 1607, the pinnace Virginia, one of the earliest vessels built by Europeans on this coast, was launched into the Kennebec River at Phippsburg, south of Bath. Later, the shipyards on the Kennebec turned to building coastal freighters, then tall clipper ships and grand multimasted schooners.

Today, the ships coming out of Bath are steel frigates, cruisers and other navy craft, built at Bath Iron Works (BIW), one of the largest and most active shipyards in the US. The Maine Maritime Museum, south of the shipyard, is an excellent place to learn about this 400-year-old tradition.

Last updated: Jul 22, 2009