A Little Sulphur for the Soul

Sulphur Springs fountain at Clifton Springs, New York

We enjoyed near-perfect spring weather last week. I may even have overdosed a little on sunlight in my enthusiasm to embrace the spring rays. I think by the end of the week I may also have been suffering from a quiet-time deficit. I had fit in only two hours of writing time and a few crafting moments, and even those felt rushed. I knew I needed a peaceful Sunday adventure to clear my scattered mind so that I could be better prepared for this week of busyness.

My boys and I drove to Clifton Springs, a village in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. The Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois) originally discovered and made use of the medicinal sulphur springs in the area. The whole town eventually came to center around wellness, both physical and spiritual, and was known in its heyday as "The Model Village."

Dr. Henry Foster completed his Water Cure Facility in 1850 to offer patients suffering from arthritis and other ailments the benefit of the "water cure." Dr. Foster ushered in a period of intense growth for the village. Many of the original buildings from this era remain today.

I enjoyed a very peaceful hour or so at the Foster Cottage while my kids played games at the YMCA. Dr. Foster built the cottage for his family, and now it houses a museum run by the Clifton Springs Historical Society. Browsing the exhibits in the beautifully restored home transported me back to the Victorian era, when modern medicine was coming into its own. Some components of the water cure today seem decidedly non-therapeutic. (In fact, the needle spray shower and the electric current bath call to mind Abu Ghraib rather than a hospital.) But Dr. Foster's comprehensive, holistic approach to healing echoes modern medical practice.

Photographs of four decades of nurses graduating from the Clifton Springs nursing school reminded me of the important role women played in the town's development. They were a vital part of the medical care offered in the town's hospitals. By the early 20th century, their roles had extended to the political arena. Clifton Springs is not far from Seneca Falls, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women's rights convention in the United States in 1848. Women from Clifton Springs organized a branch of the Woman Suffrage Association and hosted its conventions with nationally recognized speakers.

For the next several months, the Clifton Springs Chamber of Commerce will be hosting "Super Sundays" to celebrate the town's sesquicentennial. Whatever ails you, it's definitely worth a visit to this quiet town to feel immersed in an earlier era of health and social improvement.