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In 1745, Bath County was settled by pioneers of mostly Scotch-Irish descent. John Lewis and his wife, Margaret Lynn, first settled northwest of Staunton in 1732 at Fort Lewis. By 1740 he had purchased land on the Cowpasture River. He is known as the Father of Bath County. He gave the deed to the Cowpasture River plot to his son Charles who moved to Fort Lewis with his wife Sarah Murray. John Lewis' other son, Andrew, and Thomas Bullit received a patent for the Hot Springs tract of 300 acres and built the first hotel on the site of the Homestead Resort in 1766. Visitors began coming to the springs by 1750. An act of the Virginia Assembly passed in 1790 created Bath County from the counties of Augusta, Botetourt and Greenbrier. Named for the English resort city of Bath, the county quickly became a national resort attraction as tourists flocked to the mineral waters of the springs. Approximately 89 percent of Bath County is forest. More than 176,800 acres comprise the George Washington National Forest. Gathright Dam and Lake Moomaw are located within the national forest. T.M. Gathright Wildlife Management Area of 13,428 acres is managed by the Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries for the production and management of wildlife such as the wild turkey. Bath County consists of 450 square miles located in the west central portion of Virginia. Elevations range from 4,477 feet above sea level atop Paddy Knob to 1,140 above sea level where the Cowpasture River flows into Alleghany County. There are no incorporated towns in Bath County but there are many thriving small communites. The population of the county is appoximately 5,000 people. Bath County's Mission Statement is: "Bath County will work with all the residents to provide the necessary services and programs to diversify the local economy for the benefit of a vibrant community." Warm Springs is the county seat. There are five election districts within the county: Cedar Creek, Millboro, Warm Springs, Williamsville, and Valley Springs. The County is governed by an elected Board of Supervisors, one from each of the five magisterial districts. Supervisors are elected for a four year term. The Board holds regular meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in Room 115 of the courthouse in Warm Springs. The County Administrator, appointed by the Board of Supervisors, manages the day-to-day county affairs. Duties include: general administration, personnel management and supervision of all county departments, budget preparation, funds management, purchasing, property management, compliance with laws, regulations and ordinances, coordination with independent agencies and the community, representing the Board at meetings and functions, and any and all other duties imposed by the Board and by law to facilitate the accomplishment of the work of county government. ARTS Bath County Arts Association P.O. Box 486 Hot Springs, VA 24445 540-839-2139 Bath County Historical Society Keene Byrd Warm Springs, VA 24484 540-839-2543 bathcountyhistory@tds.net http://www.bathcountyhistory.org/ Garth Newel Music Center Janet Karpus P.O. Box 240 Warm Springs, VA 24484 540-839-5018 http://www.garthnewel.org/ BUSINESS Bath County Chamber of Commerce bathco@tds.net http://www.discoverbath.com/ EDUCATION Bath County Schools Warm Springs VA 24484 540-839-2722 http://www.bath.k12.va.us/ EMERGENCY AND MEDICAL Bath County has E-911 Bath Community Hospital P.O. Drawer Z Hot Springs, VA 24445 540-839-7000 Bath County Sheriff's Department (540) 839-2375 State Police (emergencies only) 1-800-542-5959 GOVERNMENT Bath County Board of Supervisors Courthouse Warm Springs VA 24484 540-839-7221, 888-823-1710 LIBRARY Bath County Public Library Warm Springs VA 24484 304-839-7286 slindsay@rrlib.net http://www.rrlib.net/Bath/default.htm MEDIA The Recorder Publishing Company Hot Springs VA 24445 540-839-4600 recorder@htcnet.org http://www.therecorderonline.com/ WCHG-FM 107.1 Drawer G Hot Springs VA 540-839-5400 1-877-572-5071 wchg@tds.net http://alleghenymountainradio.org/ TOURISM Bath County Chamber of Commerce Hot Springs VA 24445 540-839-5409, 800-628-8092 bathco@tds.net http://www.discoverbath.com/ Homestead Resort
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