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Author and historian Rick Kilby returns to the Matheson to share about his latest book, “Florida’s Healing Waters: Gilded Age Mineral Springs, Seaside Resorts & Health Spas.” Many of the images in the book came from the Matheson’s collections! Rick Kilby explores the Victorian belief that water caused healing and rehabilitation, tracing the history of “taking the waters” from its origins in the era of Enlightenment. Nineteenth-century Americans traveled from afar to bathe in the outdoors and soak up the warm climate of Florida. Here, with more than 1,000 freshwater springs, 1,300 miles of coastline, and 30,000 lakes, water was an abundant resource.