Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy was a private Catholic all-girls school in the city of Wheeling in the U.S. state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

History

It was founded in 1848 as the Wheeling Female Academy in downtown Wheeling and in 1865 moved to its final location and assumed its permanent name. While grades five through twelve were all female, Mount de Chantal's Montessori and Elementary schools were co-ed. They were members of the

Ohio Valley Athletic Conference The Ohio Valley Athletic Conference is a high school sports league in parts of southeastern Ohio and northern West Virginia. The OVAC is the largest conference of its kind in the United States. Schools in the upper Ohio Valley supply over 18,000 ...

. The school building was built in 1864–1865. The original structure was composed of three major parts connected by two recessed wings. The building was constructed of brick, on a limestone foundation, with a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

covered gable roof. A two-storied brick porch, added about 1910, extended the entire width. The Fine Arts addition was built in 1906, the "laundry building" in 1908, and living quarters for the Sisters in 1972. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1978. The school ceased operations on May 31, 2008, with the nuns being transferred to Georgetown Visitation in Washington D.C. Wheeling Hospital announced they were purchasing the building on April 13, 2010. No plans were announced and several historic societies were looking into preservation efforts but nothing was ever solidified. Demolition plans were announced and finalized in November 2011. Several items left behind by the nuns were auctioned off and razing efforts commenced on November 7, 2011. No plans have been announced for the site, although the grounds are currently being used as practice fields for the local Catholic High Schools.

Notable Alumnae

Carrie Watson Fleming Caroline Margaret Watson Fleming (1844–1931) was the wife of former Governor of West Virginia Aretas B. Fleming and served as that state's First Lady from 1890 to 1893. Biography Fleming was born on April 29, 1844, at Fairmont, West Virginia ...

, First lady of West Virginia, 1890–1893 *

Edna Hall Scott Kump Edna Hall Scott Kump (April 18, 1887 – January 19, 1957) was the wife of former governor of West Virginia (USA) Herman G. Kump and was the state's first lady from 1933 to 1937. She was born on April 18, 1887, at Elkins, West Virginia. She attend ...

, First lady of West Virginia, 1933–1937 *

Judith Herndon Judith Herndon (1941 - 1980) was a member of the West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered f ...

, West Virginia state senator * Virginia B. Evans, artist * Oriska Worden, singer and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

performer

References

* * {{National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Visitation schools Defunct Catholic secondary schools in the United States Defunct schools in West Virginia Demolished buildings and structures in West Virginia Educational institutions disestablished in 2008 Educational institutions established in 1848 Former school buildings in the United States Defunct girls' schools in the United States School buildings completed in 1865 Schools in Ohio County, West Virginia School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Victorian architecture in West Virginia Buildings and structures in Wheeling, West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Wheeling, West Virginia Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston 1848 establishments in Virginia 1865 establishments in West Virginia 2008 disestablishments in West Virginia Women in West Virginia

History

Notable Alumnae

See also

References