Stop 6: 54 State Street

On 54 State Street
Namesake road between
Dr. Phelps had a home
Right next to the Green

Edward Elisha Phelps, a physician like his father, was raised in Windsor beginning shortly after his birth in 1803. His talents extended far beyond his home practice. A Yale Medical School graduate, Phelps was a professor of anatomy and surgery, first at the University of Vermont Medical School and later at Dartmouth College. In 1861, he volunteered as a surgeon in the Union Army. After he served nearly a year with the First Brigade of Vermont, his poor health forced his transfer to Brattleboro military hospital. He oversaw the hospital’s expansion and before resuming his practice in Windsor. He continued to also teach at Dartmouth until 1871. Phelps collaborated with druggist M.K. Paine, who lived two doors down, on the famous celery compound. He was also the physician for the town’s poorhouse.