Riggs Cottage
| Riggs Cottage | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1896 |
| Construction Began | 1861 |
| Closed | 1969 |
| Current Status | Active |
| Building Style | Pavilion Plan |
| Location | Ijamsville, MD |
| Alternate Names |
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History[edit]
The Riggs Cottage Sanitarium was opened in 1896 by Dr. George H. Riggs, who served as the institution’s medical director until he sold the property in 1939.
Riggs Cottage sat on 42 acres in rural Frederick County, Maryland, about an hour’s drive west of Baltimore. The sanitarium was comprised of a main house with fourteen rooms and a west building (men’s ward) consisting of 10 rooms and connected to the main house by a pavilion. The east building was an eight-room cottage connected to the central building by an annex that housed the dining room. Four additional cottages were built in 1896 and housed examination rooms, additional patient rooms, sitting and dining rooms. The main building, west, and east buildings were built in 1861 by Dr. Riggs’s father as housing for families in the area who worked at the nearby slate quarries.
In addition to the main and dormitory buildings, the property included a nurses house, engine house, barn, large ice house, corn house, poultry house, tennis and croquet grounds. Patients were encouraged to spend time outside and often participated in fishing excursions, baseball games, and daily walks. Inside the sanatorium, patients could be found playing pool and parlor games, listening to music and dancing.
Dr. Riggs treated patients suffering from paranoia, melancholia, epilepsy, schizophrenia, “feeble mindedness,” and dementia. More difficult patients were transferred to Springfield State Hospital in Sykesville. Considered to be one of the foremost psychiatrists of his time, his treatments were innovative and advanced. Hydrotherapy was “indispensable,” including methods such as continuous baths and cold wet sheet packs.
In 1939, Dr. Riggs sold Riggs Cottage to Dr. Hosea McAdoo, who continued to operate the sanitarium until it was again sold in 1953 to Dr. Joseph Lerner. In 1969 the sanitarium was closed and converted into a restaurant. In 2013 CrossRoads Freedom Center acquired the buildings and now run a recovery center for men struggling with addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.
