Eastern W.Va. Town Likes Having 2 Names

[February 12, 2008]  BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) -- Newcomers to Berkeley Springs might be confused when they see a Town of Bath logo on the Eastern Panhandle town's police cruisers. But the logo isn't a mistake. Berkeley Springs is Bath, and Bath is Berkeley Springs.

City officials acknowledge that a town with two names can create confusion. Comptroller Margie Allgyer has said bill payments sometimes aren't credited properly because of the two names.

But city officials have no plans to settle on one name.

Councilwoman Nancy Harvey said there is more than one Bath in the nation but only one Berkeley Springs.

"We like the confusion," Mayor Susan Webster said. "It makes us different."

George Washington and some associates named the town Bath in 1776 after Bath, England, because of the warm mineral springs that it surrounded. Bath remains the official name. But the post office, established in 1801, was called Berkeley Springs because there was another Bath "further south along the Blue Ridge," according to the town's official Web site, which uses Berkeley Springs.

"Up until a few years ago, Berkeley Springs had as many stoplights as it had names. Now there are three stoplights but still only two names," the Web site says.

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On the Net:

Berkeley Springs: http://www.berkeleysprings.com/

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Information from: The Journal,
http://journal-news.net/

[Associated Press; By ROBERT BARR]

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