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Wesselhoeft
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First Homeopathic School of Medicine established on Chestnut
Street in 1829. |
Beautifully nestled among the
hills, at the head of the Monocacy Valley, which takes its name from the
creek bearing the same name, and in the heart of a rich agricultural
region and thriving economic area, lies the traditional town of Bath
Borough. It is one hundred miles distant from New York, sixty from
Philadelphia, eight from Bethlehem and eleven from Easton, the county
seat. It is a beautiful town, with its advantage of pure air, beautiful
surroundings and charming scenery. No stranger ever visits this locality
without being charmed with its hills and valleys. If we ascend
"Siegfried's Hill", west of town, an unobstructed view of the Monocacy
and Lehigh Valleys is had for miles, affording a panoramic scene that
seems to dissolve in the haze of the distant mountains.
To the north and west, stretches the
Kittatiny or "Endless Mountains'" and as the eye ranges along its
summit, it notes the singular clefts in the range known as the Lehigh
and Delaware Water Gaps and the Wind Gap. To the east are visible the
lofty church spires of the Moravian town of Nazareth, five miles
distant. To our south, lie the South or Lehigh mountains and the City of
Bethlehem, with the distinguished seat of learning, Lehigh University,
while to the west is clearly seen parts of the City of Allentown,
Catasauqua and Northampton.
Bath is in reality a part of the
Scotch-Irish Settlement which was established in 1728, being the first
settlement by white people within the Forks of the Delaware.
Bath was laid out by the Scotch-Irish prior
to the Revolution. It takes its name from Bath, England, through
Margaret DeLancey, a native of that place, who sold tracts of land in
this locality to some of the earliest settlers. Mrs. DeLancey was the
daughter of William Allen, who served as a lieutenant colonel in the
Continental army, but raised a regiment of loyalists in 1778.
Bath can authenticate the first white
settler's purchase of a parcel of land within the boundaries as it
stands today, to the year 1737 when 247 acres of land were purchased and
surveyed for Daniel Craig. The lands we talk about are situated along
Chestnut Street and to the north of Northampton Street.
The lands to the east of the Monocacy, upon
which the greater part of Bath lies, remained in William Allen's
ownership. In 1776 he conveyed this to his son, Andrew. In 1776, Andrew
Allen made an agreement to sell 150 acres to John Lattimore.
Andrew Allen also owned the lands on the
western bank of the Monocacy. These were confiscated in 1778 and sold to
John Sterling, who in turn, sold acres to the Ralston, Berger,
Siegfried, and Hirst families. The Siegfried home is a genuine log
cabin, standing faithful to its forbearers on West Main Street. |