Thank you for contributions to this page from James Husson, Roland Simard, and the Strout family collection.
During the history of the city of Bath, there have been three post offices.
Briefly, the history of these three is as follows:
1. Bath post office was established on 21 December 1790 and is still in operation.
2. Bath Sta. No. 1 earliest known postmark is 8 May 1934. Its closure date needs research.
3. North Bath post office opened on 16 July 1890 and closed on 9 August 1898.
In 1914, there was only one post office in Bath: Bath. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)
1790 December 21:
Bath post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
date?:
The Colonel Sewell house was the location of the first post office in Bath.
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1807 November 6: [year determined from contents]
The rectangular postmark is 5 mm high and 47 mm wide. (letter)
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1833 October 1: [year determined from contents]
The rectangular postmark is 2.5 mm high and 39 mm wide.
Click on image to enlarge (for more images of this item, see image 1, image 2, image 3, image 4, and image 5.)
year? August 11:
The circular postmark is 33–34 mm in diameter.
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1852:
Postmaster: Rufus R. Haines. (source: Maine Register and State Reference Book. 1852.)
1852 July 15:
The faded red circular postmark is 30–31 mm in diameter.
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1875 November 8: [year determined from reverse side]
The circular postmark is approximately 23 mm in diameter.
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1883 January 6 through 1883 August 17:
The circular postmark is 26–27 mm in diameter.
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1885 January 28 through 1887 May 19: [years determined by reverse side]
The circular postmark is approximately 27 mm in diameter.
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1895 June 5:
The circular postmark is 27–28 mm in diameter. The elliptical cancellation to the right of the circle is approximately 32 mm tall and 19 mm wide.
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date?:
Bath post office.
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1914 February 2 through 1918 May 29:
The circular postmark is 21–23 mm in diameter.
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1939 December 13:
The circular postmark is approximately 30 mm in diameter.
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1940 May 15:
The circular postmark is 24–25 mm in diameter.
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1941 July 26 through 1947 February 7:
The circular postmark is 20–21 mm in diameter. The outside height of the six wavy lines to the right of the circle is approximately 16 mm.
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1949 August 1 through 1950 December 17:
The circular postmark is approximately 30 mm in diameter. The elliptical cancellation to the right of the circle is approximately 34 mm tall and 13 mm wide. The consistency of distance between the postmark and the cancellation suggests that they are part of a single unit.
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1956 October 11 through 1960 December 26:
The circular postmark is 20–21 mm in diameter.
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1964 June 3:
The outer circle of the postmark is approximately 27 mm in diameter; the inner circle, approximately 17 mm in diameter.
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2021:
Bath post office. 850 Washington Street; Bath, Maine 04530. Lat./Long.: N 43°54′39″ x W 69°48′59″
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today:
Bath post office is still in operation.
Bath Sta. No. 1
1934 May 8:
Bath Sta. No. 1 post office earliest known use. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
date?:
Bath Sta. No. 1 post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
North Bath
1890 July 16:
North Bath post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
1893 April 14:
The circular postmark is 33 mm in diameter. The outer diameter of the target cancellation is 13 mm. Both backstamped postmarks are 28 mm in diameter.
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1898 August 9:
North Bath post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)
Sagadahoc Bridge Dedication Station
2000 August 31:
The postmark is 31 mm high and 101 mm long. (image side of card)
(click on image to enlarge)
