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).
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.
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).
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)
Sermon memorial to Bishop Whipple preached in the Cathedral of our Merciful Savior, Faribault, Sept. 22, 1901 by Charles Lewis Slattery, Dean of the Cathedral.
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909. Though a far cry from the car and bus services now available for St. Benedict's Convent, this horse-drawn "bus" and a carriage were the only means of transportation for the sisters and the academy students in the early 1900s (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Camp meeting at Nicollet, Minnesota, probably near the Brighton Church. A tent is in the background, maybe a cook tent. One can see dishes, even glassware with stems, on the front table. A coffeepot holds the place of honor at the head, and another pot rests on the ground at the foot of a women seated at the rear table. Also, a board walk leads into the tent, although, here, one of the tables is placed over it. Trees surround the scene, as in the first picture.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Annual Conference United Methodist Church
Camp meeting at the Mike Johnson field. The picture shows wooded surroundings. In the background is a platform, open on three sides, walled in back and roofed, with a bell attached. Over 100 persons, many of them children, are seated on wooden benches on and in front of the platform. The men are dressed in suits, the women in light colored summer dresses with long sleeves and high necks and are hatted. Some of the boys in front hold hats in their laps. They are here to hear the visiting preacher and they may "camp" there for several days.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Annual Conference United Methodist Church
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). The carriage used by the sisters around 1900 was very likely the vehicle that met students and candidates at the St. Joseph train depot. It had first belonged to the administrator of the St. Cloud Diocese and is still preserved in St. Benedict's Monastery Museum (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
A large group or railroad workers, participating in Minneapolis Young Men's Christian Association gospel meetings. The group is assembled in the courtyard of a brick building. The man in the center front is holding a large wrench. Many YMCAs were started as railroad Y. M. C. As in the 1870s and 80s.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Kautz Family YMCA Archives
Schools in St. Cloud (1869-1909). In 1902, when Sister Eleanor Irving was the principal of Holy Angels Grade School in St. Cloud, she opened a ninth grade for 25 students with the help of Sisters Basilia Cosgrove and Adelia Schmitt. This was the beginning of what would become Cathedral High School. With the addition of tenth through twelfth grade and new buildings, Cathedral High School would reach a peak enrollment of 1,621. A total of 225 Benedictine sisters served on the faculty and staff of Cathedral High School during its first 100 years. Records of the early graduates show that the first student who persevered to graduate from the high school was Emily Ladner; in 1905 three graduated: Anna Doyle, Charles Lauermann and Theodore Stember; and in 1907, seven graduated: Magdaline Burns, Irene Cannon, Mary Denery, Joseph Doyle, Mary Libert, Margaret Moriarity and Louise Stember (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; Voigt, page 41).
A postcard showing a street scene of Deer River with two churches and the High School. The foundation for the Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1906 and the building dedicated September 3, 1908. Written on the back: "Mrs. Hans Jue, South Haven, Minn. Dear ma, I will tell you we got the pagages (sp) you sent. Tanking (sp) you folks manie (sp) times. They were just find (sp) only little long. and Irene was proud of what she got and said tank (sp) grandma. Ill write more next time, Cary and all. xxxxxxxx, answer soon."
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Annual Conference United Methodist Church
Exterior view of the Church of the Holy Communion in St. Peter, which is located on the west side of Minnesota Avenue between Broadway and Chestnut street.
Exterior view of the second St Patrick's Catholic Church (built in Birch Cooley in 1898). View includes the confirmation class of 1900. Note: the church burned in 1942.