Lewin Center

THE GEHRING HOUSE

Bethel’s most imposing 19th-century residence, the Gehring House was designed by Maine architect Frederick Tompson and constructed in 1896 on the site of the Dr. Nathaniel Tuckerman True house. True was a longtime headmaster of Gould Academy, author of the town’s first history, and founder of the farmers’ club movement in Maine. A mix of Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles, the Gehring house served as both a private home and clinic for Dr. John George Gehring (1857-1932) www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,730466,00.html and his wife, Marion True Gehring, daughter of Dr. True. This imposing structure was originally surrounded by manicured grounds that included formal gardens and tree-lined pathways. The Gehring House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

From about 1898 till 1925, the house was the site of Dr. Gehring’s medical practice. Trained as a physician at what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and later (like Kurt Lewin) the University of Berlin, Gehring used an eclectic combination of therapies--including hypnosis, medication, and behavioral techniques--to treat patients for anxiety, stress, and other nervous disorders. Over about 25 years, he treated hundreds of socialites, academics, writers, and politicians, most of whom spent weeks at the House or the nearby Bethel Inn. Among those he treated were William Bingham II, the Cleveland philanthropist whose charities continue to fund many nonprofit organizations in Maine; Max Eastman, the Socialist critic and writer; Robert Herrick, popular and prolific novelist; George Ellery Hale, acclaimed astrophysicist and founder of the Mount Wilson Observatory in California; and scores of law, medical, science, and economics faculty from Harvard.

The NTL Institute www.ntl.org purchased the house in 1955 and still owns the building, in a special lease arrangement with The Lewin Center, which intends to maintain the Gehring House as a place where the thinking, research, actions, and publications of individuals and groups will enhance the quality of life for all world-wide.

Directions: The Lewin Center is located at the Gehring House (formerly known as the NTL or Founders House). This imposing yellow Victorian house sits at the head of Broad Street. Go up Broad Street past the Bethel Inn, and instead of turning up Paradise Rd., keep going through the cul-de-sac up the driveway to the parking lot in back. Entrance is on the driveway-side porch.