Mount Saint Mary's Convent and Academy - History

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 The Foley Library for Historical Research in nearby Nevada City, California retains historical documents for Mount St. Mary's.

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