Bath Custom House | Maine Maritime Museum Manuscript Collection Online Catalog

The United States Government constructed the Bath Customs House located at 1 Front Street in Bath, Maine between 1852 and 1858 for a cost of $105,891.25. Previous to that, Customs records were housed in various locations in the City of Bath including the former public library building in 1888 and a music hall located on the northeast corner of Centre and Washington Streets.

Architect Ammi Burnham Young, the supervising Architect of the United States Treasury, designed the Italianate structure built entirely out of granite. The Office of the Collector for Bath and the United States Post Office both conducted business within the building. In 1858, Joseph Berry was Collector of Customs and Joseph C. Snow was U. S. Postmaster. The building also had a room for federal judges, a Port Surgeon office and a room for the Merchant’s Exchange and Board of Trade.  The customs service operated out of the second floor and the post office from the bottom floor. The Bath Post Office moved to Washington Street in 1975. The Bath Customs House closed and relocated to Portland at this same time as well. The Bath Customs House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.