Bath, Michigan is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in Bath Charter Township, Clinton County, in the south-central Lower Peninsula.
The village has no elected officials, nor any government other than the township government, acting as the township's business district.
The village is accessed primarily by I-69, which runs east-west just south of the village limits, and US-127, a north-south highway just west of Bath. Connecting with these highways are Chandler Road, Webster Road, and Clark Road.
The unincorporated community of Gunnisonville is 2.6 miles west, and Haslett is 5.8 miles south-southeast of Bath, while the city of DeWitt is 6.8 miles southwest, East Lansing is 7.1 miles south, and Lansing is 13.0 miles south-southwest of the village.
The first known European settler in what was to become the township was Ira Cushman, who came from Canada with his family in 1836. Dustin Marr, a Mexican War veteran, was the first settler on the land that became the village. He sold his property to Charles Thompkins, who gave a portion of the land to the Michigan Central Railroad, to be used as a depot and rail yard. The village grew up around the rail station. A post office was established on June 7, 1858, and the village was platted in 1864, but never incorporated.
Today, the community is largely a bedroom community for people who work in Lansing, East Lansing, or other nearby cities. Although is near some large shopping centers, the village is generally acknowledged to be a good place to raise a family, offering quiet streets and a good school system, despite its proximity to the state capitol of Michigan.
However, Bath was also home to what remains the worst school mass murder in the history of the United States, known as the Bath School Disaster. Andrew Kehoe, a local school board member and farmer, upset over the impending foreclosure of his farm, blamed his troubles on high taxes resulting from the establishment of the Bath Consolidated School, which had replaced the much less expensive one-room schoolhouse a few years earlier.
Early in the morning on May 18, 1927, Kehoe murdered his wife, killed all of his livestock, and burned his house and farm. Beforehand, he had wired the school building with dynamite, which he detonated, killing thirty-eight children and six adults, and injuring fifty-eight others. After the explosions, he drove back to the school in his pickup truck, which he had also wired with explosives. When the school superintendent approached his truck, he detonated the dynamite packed into his pickup truck, killing himself, the superintendent, and four others who were nearby. The entire school was wired with explosives, but nearly five hundred pounds of dynamite under the south wing of the school failed to detonate.
Today, Bath Middle School is situated directly across the street from where the Consolidated School previously stood. The school district maintains a memorial park and a small museum commemorating the tragedy.
The focus of this category is on the village of Bath, Michigan. Websites representing Bath businesses, industries, schools, churches, organizations, attractions, and events are appropriate for this category.
Recommended Resources
Located on Webster Road, the Bath, Michigan, the congregation meets on Sunday mornings and evenings, and on Wednesday evenings for prayer services. A map shows the location of the church, a weekly service schedule, and calendar of events are posted, and an introduction to the church’s pastor, a statement of beliefs, and a mission statement are included. Its ministries to various groups are discussed, and a sermon archive is available.
http://www.bathbaptistchurch.com/
Serving the mostly rural community of Bath, Michigan, the public school district provides a preschool to the twelfth-grade curriculum through an elementary school, middle school, and high school, each of which is highlighted here, along with the district’s athletics programs, online services, a calendar of events, staff profiles, public notices, and job opportunities. Links to various online technology resources are presented, and its policies on website accessibility are included.
http://www.bathschools.net/
Headquartered in Bath, the company staffs a combination of field and help-desk technicians to support clients throughout Michigan, serving as a network consultant for local governments at the county and municipal levels, including police departments. Founded in 1998, a company profile is presented on its website, including the services that it offers, its awards and certifications, and its AssessApp smartphone application property assessments.
https://www.itright.com/
Michigan History is an online student magazine with a focus on Michigan history and tradition. Maintained by undergraduate students from Michigan State University, the site showcases student research, connecting it with local heritage. This section of the site features the village of Bath, a small town north of East Lansing and MSU. A profile of the community and its small-town feel is presented, along with the story of the worst mass murder in a school in US history, which took place in Bath.
http://michiganhistory.leadr.msu.edu/bath/
Founded by Mata Yogananda Mahasaya Dharma, the Centre is open daily for self-realization, pure meditation, healing, and counseling, and people of all faiths, meditation practices, and traditions are welcome. Guided retreats are throughout the year, with personal retreats, and self-guided retreat accommodations available most any time. Schedules of classes, services, and retreats are featured, and an overview of the accommodations are given, including rates.
http://www.selfrealizationcentremichigan.org/
