Plymouth in Windsor County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)

Achsa W. Sprague (1827-1862)

Spiritualist and Reformer

Photographed by Dennis Gilkenson, May 10, 2017

1. Achsa W. Sprague (1827-1862) Spiritualist and Reformer

Inscription. Achsa Sprague was born and lived in Plymouth Notch, teaching in the stone school by age 12. At 20, she contracted a mysterious disease and spent seven years bedridden, waking one day miraculously cured. Attributing recovery to angelic powers, she became a trance medium and lectured on Spiritualism throughout the United States and Canada. Sprague was a prolific author of Spiritualist articles, prose, poems, and letters through automatic writing, which she claimed was controlled by worldly energies. She supported women's suffrage, prison reform, and the abolition of slavery. Sprague died at age 34 and is buried in the Plymouth Notch Cemetery. Her tombstone is engraved with her verse, "I Still Live."

Erected 2016 by Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • Arts, Letters, Music • Education • Women. In addition, it is included in the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation Markers series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1827.

Location. 43° 32.163′ N, 72° 43.56′ W. Marker is in Plymouth,

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Vermont, in Windsor County. It is on Messer Hill Road, on the left when traveling west. Across from 122 Messer Hill Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 203 Messer Hill Rd, Plymouth VT 05056, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Vermont’s Connecticut River Valley

and in the Green Mountains.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in New England.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Capt. John Coolidge Flagpole (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Plymouth WW1 Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Calvin Coolidge (approx. ¼ mile away); Calvin Coolidge Homestead (approx. ¼ mile away); World War II Veterans Honor Roll (approx. 0.8 miles away); Vermont Gold Rush (approx. 4.4 miles away); Revolutionary War Campground on the Crown Point Road (approx. 4.4 miles away); Bridgewater World War I Monument (approx. 6.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Plymouth.

Achsa W. Sprague marker from road image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Dennis Gilkenson, May 10, 2017

2. Achsa W. Sprague marker from road

Credits. This page was last revised on April 15, 2018. It was originally submitted on May 10, 2017, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. This page has been viewed 1,042 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 10, 2017, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.