National Park Seminary
The National Park Seminary Historic District was initially developed in 1887 as a resort hotel called Ye Forest Inne designed by the noted Washington architect T. F. Schneider. When the hotel proved to be unsuccessful, educators John and Vesta Cassedy rented, and later purchased, the property to create an institute of higher education for young White women. They opened the National Park Seminary, a non-religious boarding school, in 1894.
In addition to regular academic courses, the Cassedys believed that art and culture should be integral to the school’s curriculum and they offered a wide variety of music, drama, elocution, and art classes. They also surrounded the students with fanciful architecture, landscaping, sculpture, and decorative arts to create a uniquely beautiful educational environment.
The Seminary was purchased in 1916 by Dr. James E. Ament, who expanded the campus, added and enlarged buildings, created a network of walkways to connect and unify the grounds, and increased the student body number. Ament was followed by Roy Tasco Davis, who bought the school in 1937. Because the Great Depression had caused a sharp decline in student enrollment, he introduced a business-oriented curriculum and renamed the school National Park College.
Following the outbreak of World War II, the U.S. government compelled Davis to sell it the Seminary and its extensive grounds. In 1942, the school opened as an annex to the Walter Reed Army Hospital and served primarily as a rehabilitation center for soldiers, many of whom had lost limbs in the war. Some patient care continued during the Korean Conflict and the Viet Nam War, but was discontinued at the Seminary in the late 1970s. The property was then used for limited medical research, military housing, and administrative purposes.
Over the years, the property declined and the Army began to discuss demolishing some of the historic campus to make room for housing. The Maryland Historical Trust then sought to protect the site by securing its listing in 1972 on the National Register of Historic Places.
Save Our Seminary formed in 1989 to garner support for preservation and to press the Army into either taking better care of the historic buildings and grounds or turning it over to a new owner. But it wasn’t until 2001 that the Army finally agreed to divest itself of the historic district. In October 2004, the Seminary and an adjacent tract were transferred through Montgomery County to a partnership of The Alexander Company, a developer experienced in adapting historic properties to new uses, and EYA, a local residential developer. Their plan to save all of the historic buildings, to construct townhouses in compatible styles, and to transform the Seminary into a unique residential community of apartments, condominiums, and single-family homes has been realized in the beautiful neighborhood of National Park Seminary. A preservation easement now protects the historic buildings and grounds and ensures public access to this special place in perpetuity.