First 5O years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). At first the college shared the facilities of the academy in Cecilia and Gertrude Halls. Cecilia Hall, built in 1881, is described in the 1926 College Bulletin: "Five dining halls with service rooms occupy the basement floor, five reception rooms the first floor, seventeen music practice rooms and five teacher's studios the second, while the third was remodeled in 1924 into a residence hall with an infirmary area. The private rooms are furnished with vanity dressers, tables and settees; each has a large private wardrobe and hot and cold water. A trained nurse is at all times in charge of the perfectly equipped infirmary. A secluded cottage (infirmary/guest house) on the campus, also in charge of a trained nurse, is used in case of contagious illness." Gertrude Hall, built in 1898, is also lauded in the 1926 College Bulletin: "In the basement is the service room fitted with the most convenient shampooing apparatus, irons, electric attachements, etc.--also cloak rooms, locker rooms, a stationery store, a confectionery store, and a kitchenette fully equipped for the serving of light lunches or 'spreads.' On the first floor are administration offices and the chemical and physical laboratories. . . On the second floor is the botanical laboratory and classrooms, well-lighted and each furnished with a special library open to the use of the students. The third floor provides airy pleasant dormitories for those who do not wish to rent private rooms." However, many of the activities of the college centered in the two new buildings, Teresa Hall and Sacred Heart Chapel, which were as up-to-date as Benedicta Arts Center and Regina Hall seem to us now - perhaps more so. Teresa Hall was the height of luxury! It had a library on 1st floor, an auditorium/study hall on 2nd floor, a rotunda (residence area) on 3rd and 4th floors (where some rooms had private baths and every bedroom had hot and cold water) and a gymnasium on the ground floor. (Gable, OSB) The chapel inspired by new architecture, very moderate baroque with its Carrara statues and Sienna marble pillars from Italy (and majestic, granite pillars from Rockville, MN), was a perfect example of its baroque type -- Newman's favorite. However, the college faculty was concerned about the later interior decorating of the chapel. In 1958, members of the art department, Sisters Johanna Becker and Jacquelyn Dubay as art consultants, helped the community restore some of the chapel's original lightness which had seemed so right in the beginning. (Gable, OSB)
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (October 21, 1912). An enclosed cloister walk was constructed to connect the second level of the south side of the chapel to the second level of Teresa Hall at the college. An enclosed cloister walk connecting the second level of the north side of the chapel to Marmion Hall (formation house) was also in the plans. Because later photographs show this south court area without a cloister walk, it may be assumed that the construction workers had to remove the cloister walk shown in progress in this photograph, probably to give more space for the ensuing construction work. However, photographs of early 1914 show that the enlosed north and south cloister walks were added to the chapel immediately upon the completion of the chapel.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (October 28, 1912). One week after the steel girders for the inner walls were installed, the steel supports for the stained glass windows were in place.
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). This aerial view of St. Benedict's Convent/Academy campus (1909) shows the extent of the 40-year growth of the Benedictine community and its academy from the 1863 church/convent/school complex to this impressive campus. About five years after this photograph was taken, the addition of the spacious, copper-domed chapel and the Teresa Hall addition to the academy/college, gave St. Benedict's Convent the appearance of a full-fledged monastery with the college under its wing (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Image includes view of Presbyterian church, 116 Court Street South; Grace Methodist Church, 216 Junius Avenue West; M. Benson building, 201 Lincoln Avenue West; Otter Tail River; Court Street and Union Street bridges; Park Region Lutheran College in background on right.
Studio portrait of Agnella Duesterman in long white dress, black tall heel boots, veil on head. She is holding a small black book that is resting on a table to her right; there is a candle on it. The background is a backdrop.
Andreas Helland (1870-1951) was a professor at Augsburg Seminary from 1905 to 1940. He was the author of an early definitive history of Augsburg Seminary titled ""Augsburg seminar: gjennem femti aar 1869-1919."" He also edited George Sverdrup's collected works and in 1947 wrote a biography of Sverdrup titled ""Georg Sverdrup: The Man and His Message."" Helland was very mission-minded and served the Lutheran Board of Missions as secretary (1907-1919), treasurer (1925-1929), and secretary-treasurer (1933-1946). Front of photograph reads: Prof. Andreas Helland, L.B.M. Mission Secretary.
Book containing announcements made at Sunday mass, including marriage banns, deaths, parish activities and news. Documents laying of the cornerstone for the Pro-Cathedral (later Basilica) of St. Mary in 1908. Also includes list of parish library holdings.
Book containing announcements made at Sunday Mass, including marriage banns, deaths, parish activities, entertainments and news. Initial fundraising and groundbreaking for the new Pro Cathedral is documented.
Book containing announcements made at Sunday Mass, including marriage banns, deaths, parish activities, entertainments and news. Progress of the new Pro Cathedral building is documented.
Book containing announcements made at Sunday mass, including marriage banns, deaths, parish and civic activities. Documents first two years in the new Pro-Cathedral church. Includes some baptism records.
St. Louis County record of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Articles of the Articles of Incorporation of the Swedish Christian Mission Church, Duluth, Minnesota. This is a negative copy of the original document which was lost in the 1932 church fire
St. Louis County record of the Preamble and 1st article of the Articles of Incorporation of the Swedish Christian Mission Church, Duluth, Minnesota. This is a negative copy of the original document which was lost in the 1932 church fire
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909). The fact that a room was already set aside for art in the late 1890s attests to the sisters' desire to cultivate the love of beauty. The academy catalogues show the variety of courses that were available including oil painting. St. Benedict's Academy (later College) has produced notable artists, for example, Sister Thomas Carey, among its faculty and students throughout its history (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
The photograph caption reads, "Asphult, 1889-1919." The church building was built in 1890 and vacated in 1965. In 1975 the building was moved to the Pennington County Historical Village in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.
Schools in North-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Eden Valley was platted in 1886 when the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad Company laid their tracks through the area, Eden Valley developed rather rapidly. By 1901 three Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph went there to teach in temporary classrooms until the new parochial school was completed in 1902. Eventually the enrollment peaked at 310 with 8 sisters teaching at the Assumption School. Watkins The same year, the neighboring town of Watkins was platted along the same railroad. By 1907 the Catholic parish, St. Anthony's, in Watkins was large enough to build its own parochial school. The Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph were invited to teach there and the school soon realized an enrollment of 200 pupils. In subsequent years, the school developed to a peak of 321 students and for some years included high school classes (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives, Olsenius, page 137).
St. Benedict's Academy (1883-1909). As St. Benedict's Academy's enrollment increased, a larger study hall included a stage so that the study hall could serve as an auditorium when needed. The school year was enhanced with performances by the Drama Club, Choral Group, and enriching lectures by guest speakers. One guest speaker, Herman Zschokke, chaplain to the Austrian imperial court and ex-rector of the University of Vienna, later described his visit to Minnesota in a book, "Nach Nordamericka und Canada." As the academy became a college centered on the west campus, a large Benedicta Arts Building/Petters Auditorium was built; it not only serves the college and Benedictine community but also central Minnesota (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 107-108)
This photograph shows a picture of the Augsburg Seminary student body standing in front of Old Main in February 1918. The panoramic photograph allows you to see some of the homes in the surrounding neighborhood. In the 1870s, the Conference for the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called ""the Conference,"" called two young men to serve as professors at its school, Augsburg Seminary. Sven Oftedal began in 1873, and Georg Sverdrup in 1874.These two men defined the institution and its supporting congregations for the next several decades. Their vision of Augsburg Seminary was for a cohesive nine year program: a two year academy, a four year college, and a three year seminary. In 1890, the Conference merged with the Norwegian Augustana Synod and a breakaway group from the Norwegian Synod known as the ""Anti-Missourian Brotherhood"" to form the United Norwegian Lutheran Church. Augsburg was to be the seminary of the new church body, but a controversy soon developed over the role of Augsburg's college department vis-a-vis St. Olaf College which has been loosely associated with the Anti-Missourian Brotherhood. Known as the ""Augsburg Controversy,"" contentious court battles went to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Eventually, Augsburg Seminary and its supporters formed a new church body in 1897 called the Lutheran Free Church. Front of photograph reads: Augsburg Seminary, Feb. 1918, Craft Studio. Back of photograph reads: Old Main Building.