Bath is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States, with an area of 96.3 sq mi and a population of 12,097. Its largest settlement is the Village of Bath, which has an area of 2.9 sq mi and a population of 5,641. The Village is the county seat of Steuben County. The Town is located in the central part of the county, northwest of Elmira, New York. The town and village are either named after the city of Bath in England or after Lady Bath, daughter of a landowner.
History
The town was founded in 1793 and was part of a land investment by wealthy Briton William Pulteney, and named after Bath, Somerset in England, where he owned extensive estates. It was created along with Steuben County in 1796 and became a mother town of the county, eventually yielding land to seven later towns. The Lackawanna Railroad opened its mainline through Bath, and opened a station, in 1882. In 2004, Charles R. Mitchell and Bath resident Kirk W. House produced a historic photo book, Bath, in the Arcadia Publishing "Images of America" series.
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,097 people, 4,905 households, and 3,050 families residing in the town. The population density was 126.0 people per square mile. There were 5,402 housing units at an average density of 56.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 96.04% White, 1.79% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population. There were 4,905 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90. In the town, the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $32,508, and the median income for a family was $39,625. Males had a median income of $30,456 versus $25,160 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,939. About 10.5% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
