Saint Joseph College and Mother Seton Shrine are two closely related campuses in

Emmitsburg, Maryland Emmitsburg is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, Frederick County, Maryland, United States, south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania. Founded in 1785, Emmitsburg is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The town ...

, United States. It forms a historic district that 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 ...

in 1976.

Saint Joseph College

The campus is the original site of Saint Joseph's Academy, a Catholic school for girls from 1809 until 1973. The Saint Joseph College campus includes a variety of significant buildings including the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

Burlando Building, St. Joseph's Chapel, and an early 19th-century brick barn. The chapel embraces a combination of the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

and

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

styles. In June 1809,

Elizabeth Ann Seton Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was a Catholic religious sister in the United States and an educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. After her death, she became the first person bo ...

(later canonized as the first native-born U.S. saint) arrived in Emmitsburg, Maryland and established Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School, the first free parochial school for girls in the United States. This school laid the foundation for the Catholic parochial school system in the United States.Mother Seton School: A Rich History Mother Seton wrote classroom textbooks and trained her Catholic sisters to become teachers, and accepted all students regardless of ability to pay. Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School developed into Saint Joseph College High School (1890-1946), Saint Joseph's High School (1946-1982), and Saint Joseph College (1902-1973), a four-year liberal arts college for women.History of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church: Historical Highlights of Saint Joseph's Parish In 1973, Saint Joseph College closed its doors and ceased operations due to declining enrollment numbers and rising operating costs. Students and faculty were merged with

Mount Saint Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It includes the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. The undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, ...

, formerly a liberal arts men's college located two miles (3 km) south of Emmitsburg on U.S. Highway 15. Even after the school closed, The Daughters of Charity have continued Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton's legacy of helping educate children around the world. The college campus was purchased by the U.S. Government in 1979 for use as the

National Fire Academy The National Fire Academy (NFA) is one of two schools in the United States operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Operated and governed by the Unit ...

. It is home to the

, United States Fire Administration,

National Emergency Training Center The National Emergency Training Center (NETC) serves as an interagency emergency management training body for the United States government. The college campus was purchased by the U.S. Government in 1979 for use as the National Emergency Training ...

, and Emergency Management Institute (EMI), which is operated by the Directorate of Preparedness branch of the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

(FEMA). The campus also includes the learning resource center (LRC) library, the National Fire Data Center, and the

National Fallen Firefighters Memorial National Fallen Firefighters Memorial since 1990 is officially designated by the United States Congress as the National Memorial to career and volunteer fallen firefighters. Located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, it was conceived as a tribute to Ame ...

Mother Seton Shrine

The second part of the historic district is part of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, which continues to be operated by the Daughters of Charity. The significant buildings here include the Stone House, which predates Mother Seton's arrival here, the White House, and Mother Seton's former tomb. The White House is the first building constructed after the founding of the college and occupied on February 20, 1810. It has subsequently been expanded. Mother Seton is now buried in the nearby

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

that bears her name, but she was previously buried in a brick Gothic Revival mausoleum in St. Joseph's cemetery. The Seton Shrine also includes the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the adjacent St. Joseph's Provincial House, but they are outside of boundaries of the historic district.

References

External links

*, including 2006 photo, at Maryland Historical Trust {{Colleges and universities in Maryland Emmitsburg, Maryland Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Religious buildings and structures in Frederick County, Maryland University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Defunct private universities and colleges in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Frederick County, Maryland