Feronia Wellness Retreat is the dream of our visionary & founder, Deborah Lighthart. It has been her lifetime goal to create an alternative health center. Her dream had been lying dormant until one day she stepped onto a vacant lot beside a home she was looking to purchase. She felt a rush of energy & inspiration pouring through her. Her dreams suddenly surfaced and she knew that she had to pursue it. After talking with the real estate agent, she discovered that the property was located on a road reputed to have been part of the Underground Railroad. The name "Feronia" means "Goddess of Freedom." Slaves believed that sitting on a holy stone in one of her sanctuaries would set them free. Feronia was a rural goddess in Roman religion, to whom woods and springs were sacred. Latins believed Feronia to be a harvest goddess and honored her with the "first fruits" in order to secure a bountiful harvest the following year. Feronia also served as a goddess of travelers, fire and waters. Though the land did not end up being the the home of FWO, the name carried on.