Before construction began on the Kenwood site, Duluth Benedictine sisters enjoyed outings to the farm. The young women in black dresses and veiled bonnets are postulants.
In 1900, the Duluth Benedictine sisters purchased the first 80 acres of what would be their Kenwood campus. This parcel had been used as a farm for a number of years, and the sisters continued to farm the location with hired laborers. Mrs. Beyenka, wife of the farm overseer, feeds the chickens here. The white structure is a house for the farm laborers built in 1902, and later moved up the hill to become the College post office.
Student nurses from the College of St. Scholastica practice on animals in the laboratory at St. Mary's Hospital in 1939 with the assistance of a technician.
The student nurses' orchestra performs for an appreciative crowd in the lobby of St. Mary's Hospital in 1928. Left to right, Helen Sparling, Cecile Cousineau, Arlene Peterman, Eloise LaLiberte, Lillian Eno, Clair Smith, Lucille McMahon, Adeline Belanger, Esther Flynn
Nursing students from St. Mary's Hospital School of Nursing in 1937 enjoy a game of billiards in their recreation room at their residence at Third Avenue East and Third Street in Duluth.
1914 procession in the sisters' cemetery at Villa Sancta Scholastica. On the feast of Corpus Christi (the Thursday following Trinity Sunday) the faculty and students of Villa Sancta Scholastica went in procession to the outdoor chapel in the sisters' cemetery. Here, the elementary school students in their First Communion dresses, carrying baskets of flowers are followed by the sisters and finally the chaplain with his altar boy assistants.
In 1900, the Duluth Benedictine sisters purchased the first 80 acres of what would be their Kenwood campus. This location operated as a farm into the 1930s, supplying dairy products and vegetables to the sisters and their students. Here, hay is being cut to feed the livestock. Looking east, Kenwood Avenue is in the background.
1904 photo of the dam on Chester Creek forming a stock pond on the Benedictine Sisters' farm. In 1900, the Duluth Benedictine sisters purchased the first 80 acres of what would be their Kenwood campus. This parcel had been used as a farm for a number of years. Chester Creek, which runs through the property had been dammed to produce a stock pond. This photograph faces north, with what is now Niagara Street in the background.
A group of Duluth Benedictine sisters enjoy a picnic outing in 1900 while inspecting work on St. Anthony's Hospital in Bemidji. Left to right, unidentified sister with picnic basket, Sister Benedict Mlynek, Mother Scholastica Kerst in hammock, Sister Christina Johnson with key, Sister Alexia Kerst . The dog is a local visitor.
In 1892, the first ceremonies were held accepting new members into the Duluth Benedictine community. Back row, reception of novices, left to right, back row: Sister Benedict Mlynek, Sister Margaret Mary Borsch, Sister James Roche. Front row, Sister Leonissa Sauber, perpetual vows, Sister Jeremia Cannon, first vows.
The building which was the first St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth, as it appeared in 1945. In the mid-1880s, Abbot Alexius Edelbrock of St. John's Abbey considered creating an independent foundation of Benedictine monks in Duluth. In 1887 three buildings were constructed in Duluth's west end: a church, a parish house and a school and residence using bricks manufactured at St. John's. Plans for the new foundation did not materialize, but Abbot Alexius convinced Mother Scholastica Kerst that the large building could be converted into a hospital. The Benedictine sisters did exactly this, opening the first St. Mary's Hospital at 20th Ave. East and 3rd Street on February 29, 1888.
In 1921, an addition was made to the 1909 building: the tower from the original plan was constructed, the north lateral wing was extended and a gymnasium was built. Thomas Ellerbe of St. Paul was the architect. This view from the northeast shows the gymnasium, often mistaken for a chapel, and what was still the main entrance to Tower Hall.
During the Second World War, Girl Scout troops volunteered at St. Mary's Hospital. Here, in 1942, they are washing and folding rubber gloves. They also cleaned surgical instruments.
1912 elementary school dormitory, Villa Sancta Scholastica. Elementary school boarding students at Villa Sancta Scholastica slept in 12-bed dormitories. Each cubicle held a bed with privacy curtains, and a dresser-washstand. Closets were communal. The girls were supervised by a sister "prefect" in an adjacent private room.
Exterior view of the Mortuary Chapel in the sisters' cemetery in 1916. In Gethsemane Cemetery of the Duluth Benedictine sisters, a cistern for water collection was built on the highest hill and to screen it from view, a stone chapel was constructed. This was the location of many summertime outdoor pilgrimages and ceremonies. Maude, the sister of Sister Milburga and Sister Adelinus Bolin, is pictured with her daughter.
When the Benedictine Sisters came to Duluth to establish and independent foundation in 1892, they rented the two westernmost townhouses in the newly-completed Munger Terrace. They occupied one of the two units and their school, Sacred Heart Academy, occupied the other. Bishop McGolrick of Duluth rented the adjacent unit, his residence having been destroyed by fire.
The first segment of Villa Sancta Scholastica, the motherhouse and academy of the Duluth Benedictine sisters was completed and occupied in 1909. This shows trees being planted in front of the building and the statue of St. Scholastica in its original location.
1938 panorama of Duluth Benedictine Sisters property. In 1937, Mother Agnes Somers hired the St. Louis architectural firm of O'Meara, Hills and Quick to plan two new buildings for the Villa Scholastica campus. Due north of Stanbrook Hall, and connected to Stanbrook and Tower Halls by cloister walks is the combined Chapel of our Lady Queen of Peace and the College library.
Planting trees at the newly-constructed Villa Sancta Scholastica in 1911. Soon after the completion of the first section of their building on the Kenwood site, the sisters brought in and transplanted fully grown trees for the front of the building.
A 1930 photo of Sister Agnes (Catherine) Somers. Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, in 1875, she entered the Duluth Benedictines in 1900 at the suggestion of her cousin, Sr. Celestine Sullivan. She was instrumental in the creation of the College of St. Scholastica in 1912. She was prioress of the Duluth community from 1924-1942, and under her administration the College became a four-year institution in 1924, Tower Hall was completed in 1928, Stanbrook Hall and the College library and chapel were constructed in 1938. In her retirement, she wrote an (unpublished) history of the community to 1924, and a description of the architectural and artistic holdings of the College, All Her Ways.
An 1885 photograph of Sister Alexia (Mary Martha) Kerst (1856-1916), the sister of Mother Scholastica. She was born in St. Paul, MN, and entered St. Benedict's Convent in St. Joseph, MN, in 1878. She was the first administrator of St. Alexius Hospital in Bismarck, ND. She came to Duluth with the other foundresses of the Duluth Benedictine community in 1892 and was instrumental in the foundation of St. Mary's Hospital there. When Mother Scholastica died in 1911 she was elected prioress, a position she held until her death in 1916.
A 1924 photo of Sister Chrysostom (Margaret) Doran (1875-1959, fourth prioress of the Duluth Benedictine Sisters . She was born in New London. WI and started teaching at age 17 and entered the Duluth Benedictines in 1906. In 1919, Bishop McNicholas appointed her Prioress of the community. She embarked on an ambitious building project: added a tower and wing extension to Villa Sancta Scholastica, a gymnasium for the college and an extension to St. Mary's Hospital. She had the old Sacred Heart Institute converted to a residence for nursing students , and oversaw the foundation of an independent Benedictine community in Crookston. She was Prioress from 1919 to 1924.
A 1906 photo of Sacred Heart Institute. In 1904, the Duluth Benedictine sisters moved into their first motherhouse, Sacred Heart Institute, constructed on a two-lot site at Third Avenue East and Third Street. This building housed both the sisters and the girls' academy of the same name. In 1909, the Academy and many of the sisters moved to the new Kenwood site, and the building eventually became the residence for St. Mary's Hospital School of Nursing.
In 1955, Sister Leona Michlitch and Sister Anselma Mahowald, both former officials of the Duluth Benedictine community, take a summer walk to the cemetery.
Duluth Benedictine Sisters at their school mission in Red Lake Falls, MN in 1905. While posing for a formal portrait, they were not above interjecting a note of humor. Back row, left to right, Sister Willibauld Schmitt, unidentified, Sister Adelgundis Beyenka, Sister Patricia Murtaugh, Sister Winnibauld Geres. Front row: unidentified, Sister Joan, Sr. Hedwig Cismowski. Several of these sisters became founding members of the Crookston Benedictine community.
Benedictine Sisters of Duluth picking berries on the western 80-acre parcel of their Kenwood property. At the far left is Sister Amata Mackett, the farm manager.
The Kerst sisters, Mother Scholastica (1847-1911) and Sister Alexia (1856-1915) were among the group of Benedictine sisters to come from St. Benedict's Convent in St. Joseph, Minnesota, to found the new Benedictine community in Duluth in 1892.
In 1900, several Duluth Benedictine Sisters host a tea party for a guest at the original St. Ann's Home. When the original St. Mary's Hospital moved to east Duluth in 1898, the building was converted to first an orphanage and then a rest home. Left to right, Sister Camillus Gretsch, Sister Caroline Scheffold, Sister Madeline Heinen and guest.
A 1938 photo of Stanbrook Hall. In 1937, Mother Agnes Somers hired the St. Louis architectural firm of O'Meara, Hills and Quick to plan two new buildings for the Villa Scholastica campus. This is the new high school, Stanbrook Hall, which was completed in 1938. Stanbrook Hall High School operated until 1967, after which the building was converted to the administrative offices of St. Scholastica Priory.
In 1935, children from the St. Mary's Hospital pediatrics unit take advantage of a sunny summer day on the roof. The chairs came from the Chicago World's Fair.
The staff of St. Mary's Hospital, Duluth, in 1925, including (front to back) student nurses, sister nurses and chaplain, physicians, sister staff, lay nurses and staff. The sister in black in the second row is the hospital administrator, Sister Olivia Gowan.
In 1908, St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth started its first school of nursing. Student nurses lived at St. Theresa's Hall nearby the hospital at Fourth Avenue East and Third street. Here, an early graduating class assembles in front of the residence.
1909 photo showing modifications to strengthen ceilings in Tower Hall. When Franklin Ellerbe of St. Paul took over the completion of Villa Sancta Scholastica in 1908 steel support columns were added in all of the rooms below fourth floor, and steel beams were added to shore up the ceilings. These beams were covered with wood, and provided a somewhat Tudor flavor to the decor. This is the high school students' recreation room on first floor of the building.
The student body and faculty of Sacred Heart Academy in 1893. When the Benedictine Sisters came to Duluth to establish and independent foundation in 1892, they moved into two rented townhouses in the newly-completed Munger Terrace. They immediately established a school for girls, Sacred Heart Academy, which occupied one of the townhouses. The school enrolled students from elementary through secondary grades. The 1893 students are shown here. In the third row from bottom is Mother Scholastica Kerst, in the fourth row Sister Pauline Dunphy and Sister Florentine Cannon, and in the fifth row Sister Leonissa Sauber.
Tower Hall at Villa Sancta Scholastica was completed in 1927 with the addition of a second tower (not in the original plans) separated from the original tower by an elaborate lobby and main entrance, and the northward extension of the eastward-facing wing. Mother Agnes Somers chose the St. Louis architectural firm of O'Meara and Hills. The original college bus is parked in front of what is now called Tower Hall.
Housing for sisters suffering from tuberculosis in 1910. In the early 20th Century, tuberculosis was rife in religious communities, and accounted for the deaths of many young sisters. Fresh air was regarded as the primary treatment. Duluth Benedictine sisters suffering from the disease lived in screened caravans on the grounds of the Kenwood property.
Looking eastward from the front of Tower Hall in 1928 at Villa Sancta Scholastica towards Kenwood Avenue and the Kenwood neighborhood. The Chester Park ski jump and Lake Superior are in the background.
Students from Villa Sancta Scholastica Academy survey their new premises in 1910. The motherhouse and academy building was completed in 1909. The original architects were German and Lignell of Duluth, but the building was taken over by Franklin Ellerbe of St. Paul in 1908 when construction deficiencies were pointed out. View towards the west. The boiler and laundry building is on the right to the rear of the main building.
In 1921, an addition was made to the 1909 building: the tower from the original plan was constructed, the north lateral wing was extended and a gymnasium was built. Thomas Ellerbe of St. Paul was the architect. In this view from the northeast, the new tower is prominent, and the addition to the north wing. The boiler room and chemistry lab building is in the rear.
In 1921, an addition was made to the 1909 building: the tower from the original plan was constructed, the north lateral wing was extended and a gymnasium was built. Thomas Ellerbe of St. Paul was the architect. This view from the southwest shows what was still the main entrance.