Forest Glen in Silver Spring in Montgomery County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
The National Park Seminary Historic District
Historic District
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, March 25, 2018
1. The National Park Seminary Marker
Nation Register of historic Places Nomination Form:
NPGallery Digital Asset Management System
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NPGallery Digital Asset Management System
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Historic District
has been listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
by the United States Department
of Interior
1972
for its architectural significance
and its role in women’s education and
the history of U. S. Army Medicine
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Education • Science & Medicine • Women.
Location. 39° 0.717′ N, 77° 3.39′ W. Marker is in Silver Spring, Maryland, in Montgomery County. It is in Forest Glen. Marker can be reached from Dewitt Drive just west of Dewitt Court, on the left when traveling west. This marker is on the grounds of the National Park Seminary. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9615 Dewitt Dr, Silver Spring MD 20910, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. National Park Seminary (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named National Park Seminary (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named National Park Seminary (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named National Park Seminary (within shouting distance
this page online
Regarding The National Park Seminary Historic District. “National Park Seminary is a folly. The fantasy-land feeling of the Seminary in its wooded setting has charmed alumnae, city planners, visitors, local residents, and even its current owner, the United States Army. The naive frivolity and exuberance of the ‘age of-innocence’ has survived intact at National Park in the midst of twentieth-century Silver Spring and the Capital Beltway. The extravagances of National Park — its sorority houses, each in a different style; the countless statues throughout the grounds; the three-story ballroom — decry the functionalism of our age.” — National Register Form.
Additional commentary.
1. Forest Glen Annex of Walter Reed
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, March 25, 2018
2. The National Park Seminary Marker
“a one-time finishing school for ritzy sweet young things becomes the healer of the sick and maimed, giving the boys in khaki a luxurious but none the less homelike atmosphere to smooth the comeback trail. There's no suggestion of the hospital about it — and for that the men are grateful” — The Baltimore Sun May 30 1947, quoted in the National Register Form.
— Submitted April 2, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, March 25, 2018
3. The Forest Inn
The Forest Inn, a resort hotel, was built in 1887. It, and its grounds, were sold to the National Park Seminary in 1894. in 1942 the Seminary was used by U. S. Army as a convalescent center.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, March 25, 2018
4. Ye Forest Inne
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, March 25, 2018
5. The Fountain
Hippocamps support mermaids who in turn support eagles.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, March 25, 2018
6. The Dutch Windmill House
One of the fanciful sorority houses at the seminary.
Library of Congress
7. National Park Seminary
For Girls — Washington, D.C. (Suburbs)
For Girls — Washington, D.C. (Suburbs)
Large and Small School
A Junior College with Preparatory Department and two years of collegiate work. Rational courses of great Opportunities for social development, intimate teaching and companionships. The school life of the girl is a preparation for the real life of the woman. Specialists in Music, Art, Elocution, Domestic Science, Arts and Crafts, Secretarial branches, Library Methods, Business Law. Modern Gymnasium indoor and open-air sports. Bowling, Swimming, Riding. Democracy of life and consideration for the individual. Descriptive illustrated volume mailed to parents interested in the choice of a school for their daughters.
Address the
Forest Glen, Maryland
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, March 25, 2018
8. Hiawatha
This statue at the National Park Seminary represents Hiawatha, but an identical statue in Fort Payne, Alabama represents Sequoyah. (See HMdb marker # 28033)
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, April 1, 2018
9. Psychiatric Patients at Forest Glen
This 1944 painting by Jack McMillan hangs in the National Museum of Health and Medicine, in Forest Glen, Maryland.
“During World War II, the Forest Glen annex of Walter Reed General Hospital was used for treating patients with psychiatric conditions. Located near Washington, D.C., the former girls’ school had been purchased by the Army to provide additional space for the hospital’s activities. The picture accurately depicts the eclectic architecture while showing maroon-suited patients enjoying the grounds.
McMillen had painted government-sponsored murals during the Depression as part of the Works Projects Administration (WPA). When the war began, many of the WPA’s responsibilities were transferred to the military, leading to the commissioning of this painting.
The painting hung at Forest Glen until 1994 when it was transferred to the National Museum of Health and Medicine. It was restored at the request of the Textbook of Military Medicine Project, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army, for use as the frontispiece of Military Psychiatry: Preparing in Peace for War” — NMHM
“During World War II, the Forest Glen annex of Walter Reed General Hospital was used for treating patients with psychiatric conditions. Located near Washington, D.C., the former girls’ school had been purchased by the Army to provide additional space for the hospital’s activities. The picture accurately depicts the eclectic architecture while showing maroon-suited patients enjoying the grounds.
McMillen had painted government-sponsored murals during the Depression as part of the Works Projects Administration (WPA). When the war began, many of the WPA’s responsibilities were transferred to the military, leading to the commissioning of this painting.
The painting hung at Forest Glen until 1994 when it was transferred to the National Museum of Health and Medicine. It was restored at the request of the Textbook of Military Medicine Project, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army, for use as the frontispiece of Military Psychiatry: Preparing in Peace for War” — NMHM
Credits. This page was last revised on November 29, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 1, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 560 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on April 1, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 7, 8, 9. submitted on April 5, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
