Step Back in Time at DC’s National Park Seminary

Guided tours of National Park Seminary, just north of Washington DC,gives visitors a glance into DC’s rich history through the evolution of a tobacco plantation over a three hundred year period.

Throughout its history, National Seminary Park has been transformed from a plantation, to an exclusive resort hotel and casino for Washington DC’s rich, to an elite all-girls boarding and finishing school, followed by an Army patient rehabilitation center.  Today it’s a living museum, Historical Site and a thriving community surrounded by classic buildings and beautiful grounds.

While the grounds are public, the historical buildings are only accessible by guided tours, since some are in serious disrepair.  Several of the remaining buildings are so weathered from neglect and damage, that they have been condemned.  But buildings such as the recently restored magnificent Ballroom give visitors a taste of its previous grandeur.

Originally, the lands were part of a 1689 royal land grant to British Colonel William Joseph.  The family later sold the lands when Col. Joseph returned to England.   By the mid-1700′s, the property was acquired by Daniel Carroll, whose sons were prominent leaders in the early days of the new Republic.  One son, became one of signers of the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation, as well as a commissioner appointed by President George Washington to survey and define the new District of Columbia. The other son, became the first American Catholic archbishop.

In 1887, the noted Washington DC mid-to-late Victorian architect Thomas F. Schneider (1859-1938) was selected by of group of business men that bought the plantation to develop the land into an upscale resort hotel, naming it Ye Forest Inne.  The resort was intended to be an escape for locals from the heat, humidity and mosquitoes of the Nation’s Capital during the hot summer months.

After a couple years in operation, the US economy slowed as a result of a stock market crash, so the owners tried to keep the hotel viable by adding a large gambling casino and steam heat.

When the hotel finally failed in 1894, the property was rented to John and Vesta Cassedy who opened National Park Seminary, a finishing school for young women of elite Washington DC families.  The four existing buildings including the casino, a bowling alley and billiards room were converted into usable classrooms and dormitories.  In the first year of operations, 48 female students enrolled in National Park Seminary.  Enrollment grew steadily to over 250 students by 1910.  During that period additional building were added as well as electricity.

The campus grew and multiple sorority clubhouses and dormitories were erected, most of them inspired by buildings on display at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  Many of the sorority homes had an international design focus, including buildings resembling a Swiss chalet, a Japanese pagoda, an Italian-style villa dormitory, an English-style castle clubhouse complete with a drawbridge and tower, as well as a house with a functional windmill.  Some of the building are part of the tour.

On the college campus was a bookstore, a post office and bank, dining rooms, a tea room, a large ballroom, library, conservatory and music hall, and a chapel.

Campus life back then was strictly controlled.  Unchaperoned visits by the ladies into Washington DC or meetings with young men were strictly prohibited, as well as riding a streetcar without an escort.  The use of cosmetics and the wearing of jewelry were also prohibited, except for during formal events. Yet the college hosted numerous fancy dances, parties, dinners and pageants throughout the school year that allowed the girls to show off their finest formal wear and baubles.

Nightly dinner service was served to the girls by up to 50 uniformed house maids.  Other formal events required the use of uniformed male waiters, many who were local African-American students from nearby Howard University.

The campus also had private residences, a gymnasium, and a train station. A canoe landing and boathouse with a picnic area was also located on Rock Creek and used for cookouts after the girls rowed small boats upwards of a mile along the creek.

By the end of the 1920s, the property had been sold and enrollment dropped dramatically due partly to a change in sentiment of wealthier families no longer needing to send their daughters to finishing school. The need for training in the social arts was becoming passé.  The impact of the Great Depression also reduced the potential number of students whose family could afford such an extravagance.

In 1937, Roy Davis headed up the school and changed its focus to academics and job training along with the school’s name to National Park College.  After 5 years, in 1942 the U.S. Army, using the War Powers Act, condemned and purchased the land and buildings for military purposes.  The site was renamed and quickly developed into a facility where returning wounded and invalid soldiers could recover and be rehabilitated.

The 164-acre property, now called Forest Glen, became an annex of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, located just 4 miles away.  Housing wounded soldiers, the site taught them practical skills so that they could carry on with their lives after sustaining serious or debilitating injuries.

During the army’s ownership over the next several decades, new barracks replaced the old plantation house and slave’s quarters which existed until the 1970s.  The army minimally maintained the lands and buildings and abandoned several of the buildings.

Over the past couple decades, the Army announced different plans for the land, ranging from erecting a hazardous medical waste incinerator to building condos, until more recently when it stated it would divest itself entirely of the property.

Area residents and local preservationists mounted a vigorous campaign to have a 27-acre historic acre parcel and buildings saved before more destruction was done. The property was then designated as a Historical Site, due to it’s rich and diverse history.   Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland also secured Federal budget dollars to help repair and slow the deterioration of the property.

Several years ago, the General Services Administration (GSA) took over the historic area from the Army and transferred it to Montgomery County which immediately sold it to a developer.

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Today, the 27 acre historic area within National Park Seminary has been redeveloped, focusing on the saving and conversion of several of the existing structures by converting them into single-family homes, condos and rental apartments.  Additionally, the gorgeous historic ballroom was recently restored and reopened for community use.  Wooded areas and trails are being conserved as well.  Properties in the community range from $200,000s to over $1 million dollars.

Many of the old buildings are now gone, lost to time, either having been demolished or having fallen into disrepair due to neglect, vandalism, and water damage.  The beautiful Greek Revival Odeon Theater was destroyed by arson.  But several of the buildings and the beautiful ballroom can still be toured in their original or restored condition.

Guided walking tours (1½ to 2 hours) are offered a couple of times a month.

National Park Seminary – 2755 Cassedy Street at Linden Lane, Forest Glen, Maryland.  Tours meet in front of the Gymnasium.  (map)

Dates and Times – September 25,  October 10, October 23, and November 27, 2010, at 1:00 pm.  Tours begin at 1:00 p.m.  Reservations not required.  Call 301-589-1715 for more information.  A $5.00 donation per person is requested.  Extensive walking on outdoor unpaved paths and steps is required.

The grounds outside of the construction areas are open to the public during daylight hours.  Most buildings are closed except to official tours.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Forest Glen – Red line, then a 1-mile walk or cab ride.

Parking - Street parking is available on Linden Lane and on Cassedy Street, but check residential parking restrictions.

Photos – All from Wikipedia; girls with wreaths, ballroom, pagoda,