Brattleboro, VT (9 April 2018)–A rare copy of the Brattleboro Hydropathic Messenger was recently donated to the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro, Vermont, by former library director Jerry Carbone, who is part of the leadership team of the Brattleboro Words Project, a National Endowment for the Humanities-backed effort led by five area nonprofits to celebrate the rich but undersung history of printing, publishing and words in the greater Brattleboro area.
The Hydropathic Messenger was a newspaper issued by the Lawrence Water Cure from 1858 until the business closed in 1859, and there appear to be only three issues held in public repositories. The Brooks Memorial Library has volumes 2 and 3, and the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin owns volume 1.
“We are thrilled to have this rare item donated to our water-cure archives,” Brooks Library Director and a fellow member of the Brattleboro Words Project Leadership Team Starr LaTronica said. “The library has many historic and rare collections and is looking forward to working with the Words Project to get more schools and community members to use what we have to unlock the secrets of the past.”
The publication was edited by hydropathic physician and co-founder of the Lawrence Water-Cure, Charles William Grau (d.1861). It was printed by J.H. Capen of Brattleboro. Brattleboro’s first telegraph operator and independent printer.
The Hydropathic Messenger was offered free to any subscriber and typical articles covered, “Hints to Patients under Water Treatment,” “A Catalogue of Native Plants Around Brattleboro,” correspondence from subscribers, and even poetry. The publication also printed the railway schedules and listed the patients who came to the water-cure with dates of their stay as well as their permanent residence. The newspaper was funded by advertisements, so it is an interesting peek into the businesses of Brattleboro.
The Lawrence Water Cure was located at the current site of 118 Elliot Street and together with the Wesselhoeft Water Cure, which was located at the present site of the Brattleboro Fire Department, are Brattleboro Words Project research sites because literary celebrities such as Harriet Beecher Stowe and William Wadsworth Longfellow, and many others, came to these establishments for ‘treatment’.
These sites will be investigated by volunteer research teams composed of classrooms/teachers, amateur historians, veterans, writers, artists and other community members — who will produce audio segments and other work to be incorporated into audio walking, biking and driving tours to create the ‘Brattleboro Words Trail.’ Organizers say the effort will increase both tourism and native understanding of the area’s literary and historical riches.
The “Peoples, Places and History of Words in Brattleboro, Vermont” (Brattleboro Words Project), led by the Brattleboro HIstorical Society, the Brattleboro Literary Festival, Brooks Memorial Library, Write Action and Marlboro College, was awarded a four-year matching grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Project is seeking and receiving matchable support from local funders and community members who are listed at the Project’s website at BrattleboroWords.org. The Project hosts a public ‘Monthly Roundtable Discussion Series’ focused on a different topic being researched every second Thursday of the month. See the website or email [email protected] for details on how to become involved in this community effort.