The Founding of Bath
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.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.