The Brattleboro Hydropathy Establishment, better known as the Wesselhoeft Water-Cure, was the poshest medical 'spa' of its time, a celebrated mecca for mid nineteenth century writers, statesmen and advocates who flocked to 'the healing waters of Brattleboro' and guidance from one Dr. Robert Ferdinand Wesselhoeft. Among its many famous visitors were Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom's Cabin), Francis Parkman (The Oregon Trail), Helen Hunt Jackson (A Century of Dishonor) and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose experiences in Brattleboro inspired their writings. In just seven years, from 1845 to 1852, the highly cultured Dr. Wesselhoeft left an indelible impression on the town and all who knew him. The episode begins with a synoptic overview of the Wesselhoeft Water-Cure and a later Lawrence Water-Cure across the street. At 7:52, we learn Dr. Wesselhoeft's fascinating origin story - son of a publisher, student of Goethe, lawyer and political prisoner in pre-Germany - who remade himself into a physician when he came to the U.S. to join his brother William (Wilhelm) Wesselhoeft who helped found the first school of homeopathy in the US. The two would eventually move to the Boston area to open a successful clinic serving noted 'Trancendentalists.' At 9:32 we learn that Nathaniel Hawthorne disliked Dr. Wesselhoeft so much he created at least two repellant characters in his fiction reportedly modeled after him. Hawthorne joined forces with another 'Boston Brahmin' Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes (father of the famed jurist of the same name) to humiliate Wesselhoeft and drive him out of town. Dr. Wesselhoeft escaped to Brattleboro where he found the cleanest water on east coast. Starting at 11:55 Wesselhoeft, in his own words as interpreted by actor Ned Childs, describes details of his treatments. Outcomes were meticulously noted in his regular newspaper Green Mountain Spring. Dr. Wesselhoeft describes how 'our water-cure' addressed the sad state of Americans' 'perverse and unnatural habits of life' society, diet and health and answers his detractors. The episode closes with descriptions of the elaborately landscaped paths the Dr. created around the Whetstone Brook and along the Connecticut and West Rivers that define Brattleboro. At 20:05 we hear a vivid historical account from then Brattleboro High School student Elery Loggia as the voice of Abby Estey Fuller recalling Abby's childhood fascination with the 'gloriously beauteous' paths and scenes with Wesselhoeft clients and expresses her gratitude for Dr. Wesselhoeft and the 'brains' that created enchanting settings that formed a sort of wonderland for local children.