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23 Comments

  1. Lauren Latour
    April 11, 2017 @ 10:57 pm

    Thank you for finding the beauty in Upstate NY through small towns that have helped make us who we are today. I really enjoyed this after growing up in Bath. I miss the sticky buns and sugar waffles from the state fair. =)

    • Katrina Georgiana
      April 12, 2017 @ 8:23 am

      Yes I love the sugar waffles. Amazon has sugar waffle irons- thinking of getting one…

      • Chris
        April 12, 2017 @ 7:35 pm

        You are braver than I to own a waffle iron and have access to them whenever you want! It’s better for me to have to leave the house to have them.

    • Chris
      April 12, 2017 @ 7:33 pm

      Thank you for reading, Lauren! Glad I love the small towns in our region and strongly believe we should all be exploring them more often.

  2. Sally
    April 12, 2017 @ 8:01 am

    Great read! I didn’t know about Mossy Bank Park until last summer! Can’t wait to visit the 3rd Presbyterian Church – didn’t know about the Tiffany connection! So sorry you didn’t have a nice sunny day – but that’s sort of a typical for a Western NY spring! I grew up in Almond. Have you chronicled Angelica? Rich with history and a beautiful, albeit tiny, village!

    • Chris
      April 12, 2017 @ 7:35 pm

      Funny you mention Angelica here. I literally JUST read some history of the town a couple days ago. Quite an intriguing back story that makes me want to visit.

      And yeah, a sunny day would’ve been nice, but I’ve come to appreciate the appearance of all our seasons, even if they do all take place in a single day!

      • Al Lester
        April 14, 2017 @ 9:24 am

        My wife and I were Married in the 3 Rd Presbyterian church. in 1960. Our two daughters graduated from H C in Bath. and yes we have had the sticky buns and know Joyce well. we go back to Bath at least once a year. We know the County Clerk and a few other friends and people there. As kids we roller skated where there is a bowling now. A lot of memories of Bath,N.Y.

      • Jessica
        May 7, 2019 @ 3:18 am

        Great post, I am really excited to have found your blog!

        I live tiny churches, and I think my favourite one so far is kind of similar to this– a tiny roadside chapel in a northern Ontario (Canada) town made from the steeple of a church that burned down. Can you go inside the tiny church in Bath?

        • Chris Clemens
          May 7, 2019 @ 7:40 am

          Hey Jessica! I know that church in Ontario!

          The one in Bath is on private property. If I recall correctly from a few years ago, I tried the handle and it was locked. But, there are windows, and there was nothing inside of note that would make getting inside an important experience.

          If you’re in New York though, you’ve got a few options for getting inside tiny churches:
          The Little White Church in Great Valley is always unlocked.
          Cross Island Chapel in Oneida can be open, but it requires contacting the owners. This post has info (it’s the second one listed).
          The Treehouses of Geneseo also have a small chapel. (That post doesn’t show it because I visited before he added the chapel, but it’s there!)

  3. John
    April 12, 2017 @ 10:29 am

    My wife’s family is from the Hornell area and I’ve been to Bath but only to the National Cemetery for funerals in my wife’s family. I had no idea that Bath was such a charming little town. I will make a point of exploring it the next time we’re in New York.

    • Chris
      April 12, 2017 @ 7:36 pm

      Hornell is a wonderful location too! Though it’s yet to appear on this blog. Maybe it’ll happen soon. Enjoy your exploring, John!

  4. Kristine Fox
    April 12, 2017 @ 3:23 pm

    Ha..I grew up in Bath. The owner if Chat A While is my Step Aunt. Both of my brothers worked there for many years..and yes, I crave the sticky buns.
    Mossy Bank also has a jump off for hang gliders, amazing trails, playground and picnic area. Many summers spent exploring and “trying to get lost”. All of the paths end up back at the picnic area..so it didn’t work. Lol. There are also a few lean to structures off of the playground. Truly a great place for kids to explore and utilize their imagination. The drive in is a bit crazy. One car width dirt paths and drop offs. Take it slow and be patient..its worth it.

    • Chris
      April 12, 2017 @ 7:38 pm

      I know the road you mean…. For anyone else reading and looking for tips, the town has now built a much nicer, fully paved, full access roadway to the entrance of the park. And, Kristine is correct here…worth it!!

  5. David Wood
    April 14, 2017 @ 3:46 pm

    Love Bath. This article brought back fond memories from when my family lived there.

  6. Jean
    April 17, 2017 @ 9:37 am

    I also grew up in Bath and my dad was the handyman for the Chat-A-Whyle for many years, I remember the night it caught fire and you could see the flames from blocks away. So glad they rebuilt and for the effort they are making to maintain the town’s history. Thanks for articles like these, as young children growing up in a town like this you didn’t always appreciate what you had around at the time, can’t wait to go back and tour the Presbyterian church where my sister was married when i was too young to appreciate the beauty of the building and also for giving me a reason to visit some of the surrounding towns and city’s! Thanks for this trip down memory lane

  7. Barb Hall
    June 18, 2018 @ 7:34 pm

    Just completed reading Arch Merrill’s Stagecoach Towns (1947), which, of course, has a chapter on Bath. I want to take a tour some day of all the towns he mentions. Thank you for a wonderful photo of the church with the Tiffany connection. I didn’t know about that.

  8. Ron Pray
    December 13, 2018 @ 11:17 am

    Makes me long for that beauty. Grad of Avoca 1969. Missing you big A.

  9. Anne Keddy
    April 28, 2019 @ 1:05 pm

    Thank you, Chris, for this heartwarming description of my hometown. Bath is, indeed, a gem. Thank you for seeing it as such. Anne Keddy, lifelong resident and Mossy Bank Park Committee chairperson

  10. Jessica
    May 9, 2019 @ 11:09 am

    Thanks for the info!

    I actually live in Ontario, but nowhere near that little church! I am from southern Ontario, less than two hours’ drive from the Niagara region borders, so it’s great to get some ideas about things to see/do in New York state! 🙂

  11. Vikki
    January 21, 2020 @ 12:57 pm

    My daughter and I found Bath NY on our way back from a Canadian road trip and stopped for gas and a bite. What an amazing little throwback to yesteryear and we had the best meal I’ve had in years at a small mom and pop restaurant (the name escapes me unfortunately). I absolutely fell in love with the town, so much so, I’ve been researching real estate there, as I’m thinking of moving there when I retire. What a wonderful place, I’m so envious to those who grew up there.

  12. First Presbyterian Church - Bath, NY | Exploring Upstate
    May 10, 2020 @ 10:44 am

    […] Town of Bath was founded in 1793 by Briton Pulteney and like so many from that era, he chose a name that […]

  13. St. Januarius Church in Naples, NY | Exploring Upstate
    May 18, 2020 @ 1:15 pm

    […] Watkinstown was renamed to “Middletown” because of its position between Canandaigua and Bath. Then in 1808 it would be redesignated to the name we’re familiar with today: Naples. Many […]

  14. Laurie
    July 14, 2022 @ 7:41 am

    July 2022
    Great!! Thanks for the article. I was planning a road-trip somewhere…and this looks exactly what my soul needs