This is a repost of an article originally published in the Rutland Herald/Times ArgusWeekend Magazine on September 23, 2023. credit: Brattleboro Historical Society Pus-filled boils, anyone? Brattleboro's Wesselhoeft Hydropathic Institution was once a favorite of New England's literary elite despite its questionable treatments. Horace Greeley, Julia Ward Howe, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Catharine Beecher, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow… undoubtedly some of the most famous progressive and creative thinkers of the 19th century. As well as all knowing each other, they have something else in common: they spent time here in Vermont getting plunged in cold water multiple times a day, wrapped in wet sheets for hours, and eating bland food — willingly — at the Brattleboro Hydropathic Institution founded by one Dr. Robert Wesselhoeft... Continue reading on Substack (no subscription required)

Over 100 years ago, the last person to be hanged in Vermont was a man convicted of a murder in Wallingford, Vermont. It was just one of a number of killings in the quaint New England town.

This is a repost from my “Remember When” column first published in the Rutland Herald/Times Argus Weekend Magazine on May 27, 2023. Horace Greeley may be remembered as the 1841 founder and editor of the New York Tribune. He may also be remembered as the Liberal Republican who, endorsed by the Democrats, lost his presidential bid against Ulysses Grant. Or as the man who gained the unfortunate distinction of being the only presidential candidate to die during the election process. Or maybe he will be remembered as the man who (allegedly) said, “Go West, young man!” But what did Greeley himself remember? Continue reading on Substack (don't worry, it's free!)

Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female MD, almost started her medical journey in Castleton, Vermont -- if only the acceptance letter had arrived in time!

Vermont’s poor houses and farms were “the last word in disgrace and for the aged, the poor, the diseased, the insane, and the crippled to be sent there was almost like receiving a death sentence.”

Remember When

Author’s note: This column is dedicated to a dear librarian friend and lover of history who believed, to her last breath, everyone has a right to read and who did

The holidays were a particularly popular time for dances. And in a time of rapid industrial growth, the expanding middle-class was eager to enjoy the kind of fun previously afforded only to the Old Rich. 

Once upon a time, even here in little ol’ rural Vermont, in the 19th century, any time seemed a good time for a ball. However, the holidays – from Thanksgiving through New Year – were a particularly popular time. And in a time of rapid industrial growth, the expanding middle-class was eager to enjoy the kind of fun previously afforded only to the Old Rich. 

Note: This is another in a series of articles acknowledging the lives and humanity of those who were buried at Rutland Poor Farm or House of Corrections cemeteries.

“What began as a necessary “trot” down to the city with a herd of turkeys in time for city-dwellers’ holiday feasts, became a festive parade in Texas, which took on the name of a popular danc…