Built 1809 (1809) NRHP Reference # 76000994 Area 67 ha | Architect Lind, E.G. Opened 1809 Added to NRHP 1 January 1976 | |
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Location 16825 S. Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, Maryland Architectural style Second Empire, Gothic Revival | ||
Saint Joseph College and Mother Seton Shrine are two closely related campuses in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
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Saint Joseph College
The campus is the original site of Saint Joseph’s Academy, a Catholic school for girls from 1809 until 1973. The 107-acre (0.43 km2) Saint Joseph College campus includes a variety of significant buildings including the Second Empire Burlando Building.
In June 1809, Elizabeth Ann Seton (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 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. 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, formerly a liberal arts men’s college located two miles (3 km) south of Emmitsburg on highway U.S. 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.
National Emergency Training Center
The college campus was purchased by the U.S. Government in 1979 for use as the National Emergency Training Center (NETC). It is home to the National Fire Academy, United States Fire Administration, National Emergency Training Center, and Emergency Management Institute (EMI), which is operated by the Directorate of Preparedness branch of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The campus also includes the learning resource center (LRC) library, the National Fire Data Center, and the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
Mother Seton Shrine
The Seton Shrine includes the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Joseph's Provincial House of the U.S. province of the Daughters of Charity.