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.