Branch Baths

This blog post is about the public baths located on Broad Street in the early 20th century.

In a time when many people did not have access to running water, a local philanthropist named John P. Branch established the city’s first public bath at 18th and Broad Streets in 1909. Four years later, he built another (pictured) at 709 W. Main Street. Branch deeded both buildings to the city with the stipulation that the city appropriate $3,000 annually to maintain each facility. At the peak of use in the early 1920s, the two baths were patronized by 80,000 people per year. For ten cents, a bather would receive a clean towel, a bar of soap, and a set (yet largely unenforceable) bathing time: twenty minutes for men, thirty minutes for women. Winter was the busiest time, since people tended to bathe in creeks and lakes during the warmer months. As indoor plumbing became more common, however, patronage waned and both baths closed in 1950.

Branch Bath at 709 W. Main Street, exterior
Early 20thcentury
Cook, no number
Cook Collection, The Valentine

Branch Bath interior
Early 20thCentury
Cook, no number
Cook Collection, The Valentine

Laura Carr, Museum Technician
The Valentine