Castleton Medical School

Location: Castleton
Tag(s): Education
Historical Category: Local History
Video Date: 6/17/22

Vermont Historical Society Executive Director Steve Perkins and WFFF's Mike Hoey head to Castleton, Vermont to the site where the state's first medical school once stood.

The Castleton Medical School was founded in 1818 by three doctors: Selah Gridley, Theodore Woodward and John Crosier, who saw the need for a training school in the only state in the country that didn't yet have such a facility. Students who attended heard lectures, read books, and practiced with practicing physicians over the course of their studies. They also got into some questionable (and illegal) practices: they robbed graves for bodies to practice autopsies on.

The school was eventually eclipsed by a rival, the UVM Medical School, which was founded in 1822, and eventually shut down in 1861.

This Place in History is produced in partnership by Local 22 & Local 44 (www.mychamplainvalley.com) and the Vermont Historical Society.

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