Built 1865 or 1866 CHISL # 855 Area 8,094 m² | NRHP Reference # 74000543 Designated CHISL 1972-04-24 Added to NRHP 3 May 1974 | |
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Location 410 South Church Street
Grass Valley, California Architectural styles Gothic Revival architecture Similar Home of Lola Montez, Sierra Nevada, Grass Valley Museum, Holbrooke Hotel, Empire Mine State Historic P | ||
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 in California and commemorates the Sisters of Mercy, in Grass Valley, Nevada County, California.
Contents
The Gothic Revival Style Victorian building with Georgian Revival 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 and better known as Mother Mary Baptist Russell, or simply "Mother Baptist") arrived in San Francisco 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 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 The Foley Library for Historical Research in nearby Nevada City, California retains historical documents for Mount St. Mary's.
Construction
The building is three stories tall, and was built at a cost of $19,856, including construction and interior furnishings.
Landmark designation
This Nevada County building is honored as on the National Register of Historic Places and as California Historical Landmark 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.