The simplicity of the diminutive white cottage nestled on the property known as Chestnut Lodge belies its intriguing history as the home of a renown psychiatrist, Dr. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann.

The property was originally developed as the Woodlawn Hotel.  From 1889 to 1906, summer guests from Washington arrived by train and carriage for social gatherings, musical soirees, and other entertainments among the cool country breezes.  However, the hotel was not successful financially and went up for sale at auction.

Ernest L. Bullard, a surgeon and professor of psychiatry and neurology from Milwaukee, purchased and renovated the hotel.  In 1910, he opened a sanitarium for the care of nervous and mental diseases, naming it for the 125 chestnut trees on the property.  By 1934, his son Dr. Dexter Bullard was operating Chestnut Lodge, the only mental hospital in the world that specialized in psychoanalysis for psychotic patients.  In addition to Dr. Bullard, the Lodge had 25 patients, 1 nurse, and 6 attendants.

Frieda Fromm-Reichmann (1889-1957) arrived at Chestnut Lodge in June of 1935.  Born and educated in Germany, she gained notice for her psychiatric work in Heidelberg.  After Hitler came to power, she fled to America where she was wooed by several psychiatric institutions.  She settled at Chestnut Lodge and, in partnership with Dexter Bullard, totally transformed the hospital.  Dr. Fromm-Reichmann’s name attracted patients, talented staff, and international recognition for the Lodge, which in turn provided her with a job she adored and a new home.

Washington architect Walter G. Peter (Walter Reed Hospital, the Evening Star Building, Georgetown Prep, and numerous private residences) designed the Colonial Revival style cottage for Frieda.  On a list of building permits issued by the Town from June 1935 through June 1936 is the entry:  “D. M. Bullard…. Dwelling at Sanitarium 23x45 – 5 rooms Garage & B[ath],  $5000”   It had two floors and a cellar, with living and dining rooms, an office for seeing patients, two bedrooms upstairs, and a pleasant rear porch.  Frieda delighted in her cottage.  She used the same modest furniture for 22 years, filled the shelves with books, kept a piano in the drawing room, enjoyed her large flower garden behind the house, and had a succession of cocker spaniels.

Under Drs. Bullard and Fromm-Reichmann, Chestnut Lodge evolved as a therapeutic community on a parallel path with the maturation of psychiatry as a discipline.  While Frieda assisted Dr. Bullard with administrative issues, her key role was to develop the hospital’s specialty in psychotherapy of psychotic patients.  The Lodge became known for experimentation and success.  Booming by the early 1950s, it became a teaching institution, doubling the number of patients and adding top-notch staff.  It became known for the quality of care and treatment, based upon the philosophy that mental illness is treatable by a combination of psychoanalysis and occupational therapy.

Frieda believed that no patient, however disturbed, was beyond the reach of psychotherapy.  Her eye contact with patients was legendary.  She blended different theories, a unique style, and a Judaic-based responsibility of helping people.  Her book, Principles of Intensive Psychotherapy (1950), which remains a fundamental text, and her teaching in Washington and New York inspired a whole generation of young psychiatrists to try to create truly therapeutic environments for people previously assumed to be beyond reach.

Frieda Fromm-Reichmann died in her cottage on April 28, 1957, at age 67.  Subsequently, the cottage was used as a residence for families of Lodge patients and later for staff offices.  After more than 75 years, the Bullard family sold Chestnut Lodge.  The last 20 acres went in 1997 to CPC Health.  From 2001 to 2003, the parcel was owned by the Washington Waldorf School, which conveyed it to Chestnut Lodge Properties, Inc., which is planning a residential development.  Frieda’s cottage, identified as one of the structures of primary significance on the property, was offered to Peerless Rockville for restoration and the promise of a renewed life.

Update:  In July 2007, Frieda's Cottage was transferred to Peerless Rockville.

Read about the latest on restoration efforts.