Place:Bath, North Carolina, United States

Bath was established as a county in 1696 with land taken from Albemarle County in the English colony of Carolina (Province of Carolina). Its parent is Albemarle County. Bath County lasted 43 years until it was abolished in 1738/39.

Note: North Carolina did not officially exist as a separate colony until 1729 or a state until 1789, so Bath County never existed under the jurisdiction of the United States of America. Due to a limitation of the current page titling method at WeRelate, this page appears to locate Bath County in "North Carolina, United States", while the intention is to locate Bath County in its last known jurisdiction, i.e. "North Carolina" (the British colony). Readers are asked to please interpret the location of this place page that way.

Timeline

1696 - Bath County is established in the English colony of Carolina (Province of Carolina).

1705 - Bath County establishes 3 precincts: Archdale (later Craven), Pamptecough (later Beaufort) and Wickham (later Hyde).

1707 - Bath County becomes located in the British colony of Carolina.

1722 - Bath County establishes Carteret Precinct with land from Craven Precinct.

1729 - Bath County becomes located in the British colony of North Carolina, when Carolina is divided.

1729 - Bath County establishes New Hanover Precinct with land from Craven Precinct.

1734 - Bath County establishes Bladen Precinct and Onslow Precinct with land from New Hanover Precinct.

1739/39 - Bath County is abolished, and all seven existing precincts within its boundaries (Beaufort, Bladen, Carteret, Craven, Hyde, New Hanover, and Onslow) become counties.

Records

What few records exist for Bath County are scattered in the court houses of some of its early precincts, and in the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh. Bath County's earliest recorded deeds, for example, date from 1700 and are included in Beaufort County Deed Book One (1701-1729). However, several early Bath County deeds and other documents, some dated before 1700, may be found in the records of Albemarle County and its precincts. Most of the earliest records of Craven and Hyde Counties have not been preserved.

From extant records one may conclude that Bath County's principal seat of government was at the town of Bath (founded 1705) in Beaufort Precinct. Beaufort and Hyde Precincts are known to have also held joint sessions of court, apparently in Beaufort.

Resources

• carolana.com: Bath County, North Carolina
• Map of Bath County boundaries
• wikipedia: Bath County, North Carolina
• usgennet: Bath County NC