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The Curse of Brunswick Springs: Sacred Water, Broken Promises, and Three Fires
At 6:30 · chapter starts 2:43
The Abenaki, an Algonquin-speaking tribe who had called Brunswick, Vermont home for roughly 12,000 years, considered the six-spring site a place of sacred healing. During the French and Indian War, the springs reportedly cured a wounded French soldier — who later returned to exploit them for profit. That betrayal, according to legend, triggered a curse that any who tried to profit from the springs would be doomed. A resort was eventually built in the 1860s, its brochure cheekily referencing 'medicine waters from the Great Spirit' [1] "The Abenaki tribe considered Brunswick Springs sacred for 12,000 years. Every entrepreneur who tried to commercialize the site met the same…" 02:43 — and initially thrived before the curse seemingly caught up. In 1894, a dentist's expanded resort burned. John Hutchins rebuilt in 1929, only to watch it burn, then rebuilt again, and watched those burn in 1930 and 1931. Since then, no one has tried again — and recently the Abenaki bought the land back and transferred it to a Vermont state trust, ensuring it will never be developed.
The Abenaki tribe considered Brunswick Springs sacred for 12,000 years. Every entrepreneur who tried to commercialize the site met the same fate: their resort burned to the ground. Three separate fires between 1894 and 1931 ended development forever — until the tribe bought the land back and put it in a trust.
Brunswick Springs in Vermont has six separate springs, each carrying different minerals including magnesium, sulfur, bromide, calcium, iron, and arsenic.
The Abenaki, an Algonquin-speaking tribe, had inhabited the Brunswick Springs area for roughly 12,000 years before European colonization.
Every resort built at Brunswick Springs burned to the ground — first in 1894, then twice more in 1929 and 1930/1931 — leading owners to abandon development entirely.
The Abenaki tribe eventually purchased the land around Brunswick Springs and transferred it to the state of Vermont to hold in trust. After centuries of attempted exploitation, the sacred site is now permanently protected from commercial development. The curse, effectively, won.
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