Bath has a small number of people, and a considerable share of this small number is a new element. To many individuals of the latter class a history of the county will appeal very little. For the above reasons we confine ourselves to a presentation of the more striking and important features in the story of this county. But if, in a commercial sense, this county seemed only a moderately promising field for a local history, it remains very true that Bath is one of the best known counties of the Old Dominion. It is one of the older counties in the Alleghany belt, and it lies on a natural highway of travel and commerce. The story of its evolution is one of much interest. -- Foreword.