Judge Memorial Catholic High School - History

History

The school property was originally the John Judge Memorial Miner's Home, a hospital established by Mary Judge, wife of John Judge, a partner with Thomas Kearns in Park City's famous Silver King Mining Co. Kearns married Judge's niece, Jennie Judge. Judge Mercy Home or more commonly called Judge Miner's Home, was designed by architect David C. Dart. The hospital was established for the population of Catholic coal miners working in Park City who suffered from Black Lung. As the need for a hospital dedicated to this cause subsided in direct relation to the decline of coal mining east of Salt Lake, Mary Judge (who along with her deceased husband, John, was the benefactor of the hospital) expressed her wishes to the bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake to reopen the medical facility as a school. Mary Judge died before the diocese opened the new school's doors. The cornerstone was laid by Bishop Scanlan in the Fall of 1902 but the hospital was not opened until the fall of 1910. The hospital was originally intended to provide medical treatment for aged and infirm miners. Many miners working in Park City suffered from silicosis, also known as "miners' consumption", the disease that killed Mary's husband John at the age of 48. With Holy Cross Hospital a few blocks away, the need for a miners' hospital was not great; it was remodeled and opened as a school in the fall of 1920, under the name "Cathedral School."

Until 1929 the school was known as Cathedral High School and Catholic Grammar School. Bishop John J. Mitty changed the name to Judge Memorial School in 1929. Judge Memorial was co-ed until 1964, after Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal brought in the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales to run it as an all-boys school. At this time, girls attended St. Mary of the Wasatch Academy. In 1970, St. Mary closed and girls once again joined the boys at Judge. That same year, the school added the word "Catholic" to its name.

In the fall of 1960, Judge moved into a new school building, and the old building was used as an elementary school until it was torn down in 1966. The school was co-educational until 1964. In the fall of that year, Judge became a boys' school, and the girls were sent to St. Mary's of the Wasatch. In 1970, St. Mary's was closed, and Judge was once again co-educational.