Mount Saint Mary's Convent and Academy, originally the Sacred Heart Convent and Holy Angels Orphanage and previously Mount St. Mary's Convent and Orphan Asylum, and also known as Mount Saint Mary's Academy and Convent, is the only extant original

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

in California and commemorates the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

, in Grass Valley,

Nevada County, California Nevada County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City, Califor ...

. The

Gothic Revival Style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

building with

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...

accents currently houses the Grass Valley Museum, at 410 South Church Street between Chapel and Dalton Streets, Grass Valley.

History

Katherine Russell (sister of

Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen Charles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, (10 November 1832 – 10 August 1900) was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England. He was the first Roman Catholic to serve as Lord Chief Justice since the R ...

and better known as Mother

Mary Baptist Russell Mary Baptist Russell, RSM (18 April 1829– 6 August 1898) was a Mercy Sister, nurse, philanthropist, and educator. Biography Born Katherine Russell 18 April 1829 at Seafield in County Down she was the daughter of Arthur Russell and Margaret Mu ...

, or simply "Mother Baptist") arrived in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

with seven other Sisters of Mercy on 1854-12-08 from Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland; other Sisters followed. On 1863-08-20, spearheaded by vicar-general Father Thomas Dalton, five Sisters, including Mother Baptist, arrived in Grass Valley to help the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

miners' orphans. Bishop Eugene O'Connell placed the cornerstone for the convent/orphanage building on Sunday, 1865-05-02. The Sisters moved in on 1866-03-20, and the first orphans were taken in on 1866-04-02. The orphanage closed in 1932 and the facility was de-sanctified in 1968. The following year, in 1969, the Grass Valley Historic Preservation Committee began repair and preservation of the building and the Sisters' rose garden. The Foley Library for Historical Research in nearby

Nevada City, California Nevada City is the county seat of Nevada County, California, United States, northeast of Sacramento, California, Sacramento, southwest of Reno, Nevada, Reno and northeast of San Francisco. The population was 3,152 as of the 2020 United States ...

retains historical documents for Mount St. Mary's. Mount Saint Marys Academy is still running as a school.

Construction

The building is three stories tall, and was built at a cost of $19,856, including construction and interior furnishings. * First floor - Construction: stone. Use: classrooms, dining room, kitchen, laundry, lavatory, store rooms. * Second floor - Construction: brick. Use: chapel, classrooms, library, parlors. * Third floor - Construction: brick. Use: dormitories, sleeping quarters, infirmary.

Landmark designation

This Nevada County building is honored as on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and as

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

No. 855, registered in 1972-04-24. The plaque's inscription states:

Mount Saint Mary's Convent and Academy

Built by Reverend Thomas J. Dalton, the Sacred Heart Convent and Holy Angels Orphanage was dedicated May 2, 1865 by Bishop Eugene O'Connell. Under the Sisters of Mercy, it served from 1866 to 1932 as the first orphanage of the Northern Mines. It functioned as an academy from 1868 to 1965 and as a convent from 1866 to 1968.

The plaque was placed on the building on October 28, 1972, by the

California Department of Parks and Recreation California State Parks is the state park system for the U.S. state of California. The system is administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, a department under the California Natural Resources Agency. The California State ...

References

External links

Grass Valley History Museum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Saint Mary's Convent And Academy Grass Valley, California Museums in Nevada County, California History museums in California Convents in the United States Orphanages in California California Historical Landmarks National Register of Historic Places in Nevada County, California Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in California Buildings and structures in Nevada County, California Historic American Buildings Survey in California Religious organizations established in 1866 1866 establishments in California Gothic Revival architecture in California Georgian Revival architecture in California Victorian architecture in California

History

Construction

Landmark designation

See also

References

External links