This week Asa’s World Tour of Maine is coming to you from Bath! Located near the mouth of the Kennebec River, this area first attracted European settlers in 1607 at the nearby Popham colony. Alright, so they barely lasted a year before heading back to England. However, not to be deterred, more Europeans eventually returned to the area in 1703 and set down roots. Roots that led to the establishment of Bath in 1781. Named by the town’s postmaster, Dummer Sewall, after Bath in Somerset, England, some argue this name was chosen due to a family connection to the original city. Other sources claim it was named after Bath to associate itself with the fashionable town undergoing a building boom at that time in England. Regardless, Bath, Maine experienced its own building boom with its many shipyards, and was incorporated as a city on June 14, 1847. Today Bath, Maine continues to be known for its shipbuilding, especially for the United States Navy, at the Bath Iron Works, which was established in 1884. In addition, just like Bath in England, this Maine town is also known for its historic architecture.
Asa: Wait? We’re in Bath?! Bath, as in the fashionable English town made famous by Jane Austen in late 18th / early 19th century novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion?! We are underdressed! Quick Charles William, let’s change before we are seen!
Chuck Billy: Where did these outfits even come from?
Asa: Oh Charles William, we must go to the Library Park to see if Miss Jane is summering in town!
Chuck Billy: You do realize Jane Austen only called Bath, England “home” from 1801 to 1806? So even if she was still alive, she wouldn’t be here in Maine’s Bath. And why do you keep calling me by my formal name of Charles William?
Asa: Is it so bad to want to class up the act with a little culture? Regardless of if Miss Jane is in town here or not, in true Austen style, let’s promenade around City Park, where we can be seen.
Chuck Billy: Oh you’re making a scene alright!
Asa: It wouldn’t be a true Jane Austen experience, if we didn’t enjoy a picnic in the park, with a side of gossip.
Chuck Billy: Well I didn’t want to say anything, but did you see who John Thorpe Squirrel is flirting with over there by the fountain? Quite shocking!
Chuck Billy: Wait!!! What am I doing?! This Austen stuff is nonsense! Besides, before Bath in Somerset, England was known in literary circles, it was drawing visitors for thousands of years thanks to its Roman baths.
Asa: Thankfully, here in Bath, Maine the “Spirit of the Sea” bronze fountain in Library Park is currently turned off for maintenance. Because I don’t want a bath in Bath! Besides, there’s no swimming or bathing in it, even if it was filled with water.
Asa: I see you brought along a rubber ducky. I don’t suppose you brought along a piano for my concert?
Chuck Billy: How would I fit a piano in the car? But don’t worry, if we go down to the waterfront park by the historic Bath Freight Shed, they have a community xylophone set up for your show! Ladies and gentlemen, seagulls and squirrels, please welcome, ASA!
Chuck Billy: But enough of all this Jane Austen stuff! She’s never even been to Bath, Maine! But you know who was here? Shipwright Mr. Digby of London in 1607! And behind us is a replica of the first English ocean-going ship built in the Americas, right here in Maine, the Virginia! Since then approximately 5,000 vessels have been launched from Bath, which became the nation’s fifth largest seaport by the mid-19th century, and giving it the nickname, “The City of Ships.”
Asa: I always dreamed of being a cruise ship entertainer. I could sing nineteenth century sea shanties! “There was a young captain in Dover did dwell, And he had a pretty wife and the tailor loved her well…”
Chuck Billy: Whoa! What happened to keeping this stop classy and cultured? Time to move along…
Asa: As Jane Austen wrote in Northanger Abbey, “I really believe I shall always be talking of Bath, when I am at home again–I do like it so very much…. Oh! Who can ever be tired of Bath?” This sentiment holds true for both the Bath in Somerset, England, and across the pond here in Maine!
