Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Perham marks the beginning of the Lake Park region of Minnesota. In 1873 the town was platted by the Lake Superior and Puget Sound Land Company and named after Josiah Perham, the first president of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The early businesses were the Glove Milling company and the Schmidt Wagon Works. Within ten years the Catholic community developed a school system, at one time having the three following Catholic schools in the area: 1.) St. Henry's - the Benedictine sisters opened a school in a section of the convent but when the enrollment increased, the former public school and a harness shop were utilized; enrollment there reached a peak of 269 pupils with 5-6 sisters teaching in subsequent years. 2.) St. Joseph - the Benedictine sisters began teaching in a district school (Ottertail County), three miles from Perham. (In 1885 St. Benedict's Convent built a large dwelling there intended to serve as a sisters' health resort; instead, it became the residence for the 5 sisters at St. Joseph's School. The dwelling was later sold for $1,100.) 3.) St. Stanislaus - in 1902, the Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph's also staffed this small school but three years later it closed because only 38 students enrolled. However, the pastor reopened it seven years later and the Polish-speaking Felician sisters staffed it for another twenty years (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). As early as 1880, three sisters took charge of the parish school in Long Prairie, but within four years the sisters withdrew because of misunderstandings with the pastor. Ten years later, the sisters re-opened the mission and the school's subsequent enrollments grew to 280. Pictured are S. Demetria Keller (on left) and Catherine Siefner (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
As early as 1878 while prospecting for a site to establish a college for men in the Dakota Territory, Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, OSB, became aware of the need for a hospital in the still undeveloped area of Mandan and Bismarck. In 1885 he bought the Lamborn Hotel in Bismarck and succeeded in interesting Mother Scholastica Kerst in converting it to a hospital. It was a challenge to change the settlers' prejudice against hospitals as institutions for the wayward and shiftless. However, after five years and with the expertise of Dr. E. pageQuaine in surgery and Sister Boniface Timmers, OSB, in administration, the hospital gained favor and grew from a primitive institution to one of the finest hospitals in the land. With the help of a donation from St. John's Abbey, the Benedictine sisters were able to repay the abbey for the debt incurred by the original purchase and they named the hospital St. Alexius. By 1913, they were able to build a new hospital and to organize a school of nursing there (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 126-137).
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). From 1882 to 1890 the membership of the Benedictine community at St. Joseph grew to almost 300 professed sisters. The enrollment in St. Benedict's Academy increased to 213 (132 grade school girls and boys and 81 high school girls). Therefore, the sisters added wings to Cecilia Hall (built in 1881-1882) as follows: Benedict Hall in 1883; Scholastica Hall in 1892; Gertrude Hall in 1898. Several factors accounted for this rapid growth: with larger enrollments in the academy, the number of candidates entering the religious community increased; as the Church became more stable when the Northwest Territory was organized as a Vicariate in 1875 and as the St. Cloud Diocese was established in 1889, more parishes developed throughout north central Minnesota; and as sisters went out to teach in more and more schools, the number of candidates from parishes increased. The religious community became more stable and accepted. By 1909, within its first 52 years, the membership grew to 452, and in the next 45 years, St. Benedict's Convent reached its peak membership of 1,278. (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). The Sisters of St. Benedict opened a boarding academy (grade and high school levels) in St. Joseph, Minnesota in 1880. By the early 1900s, it was well established and thriving, with over 200 pupils.
In the early 1880s, several attempts were made in St. Cloud to meet the growing need of provisions for medical care. Dr. A.C. Lamothe Ramsay, lately graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago, began practice in St. Cloud in 1882. He and the sisters petitioned the city council for funds to help them erect a three-story hospital. When these funds for a hospital were not forthcoming, Dr. Ramsay, in 1885, opened one on his own in Joseph Pendel's newly constructed home. Because he soon found that he could not run his own hospital and at the same time take care of his regular practice, Dr. Ramsay persuaded the sisters to take over hospital work. The community, under the leadership of Mother Scholastica Kerst, was quick to take up the challenge. At first they decided to add a third floor and renovate St. Agnes Academy in St. Cloud (which had closed in 1880) to refit it for hospital use. However, in December, 1885, the sisters purchased a newly erected building on Ninth Avenue from John Kropp for $2,000 and by February announced the opening of the hospital under the name of St. Benedict's Hospital (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 251-254).
Early ventures in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1880-1890). After a fire in April of 1886 destroyed the church and school complex that had housed the Industrial School, the sisters temporarily provided room and board in the convent. Immediately, the construction of Marmion Hall, the new Industrial School, was begun between the St. Joseph Church and St. Benedict's Convent/Academy. It was ready for the fall term of 1886 for girls from White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). Because of the new quarters and the inspector's good report of the St. Benedict's Industrial School, the Indian Commissioner subsequently expanded the contract permitting the sisters to take any number of pupils and to draw them from any Indian reservation. However, even though the enrollment in the school increased to 100, only 25 were paid for by the government (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). By 1890, St. Bernard's Parish, clustered around Rice Street in St. Paul, furnished a combination church and school for 220 pupils. Three Benedictine sisters opened a mission there. With frequent additions and finally a new school, St. Bernard's became the largest grade school staffed by the Benedictine sisters -- eventually having an enrollment of 1,280 students (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Early years in St. Joseph, Minnesota (1863-1880). In the early 1860s, St. Joseph (Clinton) was a settlement of 80 families scattered on farms within a radius of 30 miles from the village, which was comprised of 5 homes and the church-school-rectory complex. The settlement flourished so that by 1869, St. Joseph could boast of 180 families. This staunch German Catholic community built a large Gothic style church (1871) and rectory (1874) from stones which the parishioners gathered from their fields. However, because they depended on the district schools, they did not build a parochial school at this time. In 1862, two sisters from the Benedictine community in St. Cloud were invited by the pastor to teach in the St. Joseph district school. After two years, the sisters experienced the same controversy about government support as they had in St. Cloud. In fact, the school board dismissed the sisters and gave H. L. Duerr a four-year teaching contract. This forced the sisters to seek other means of support by establishing an academy, orphanage, and industrial school. The sisters continued these projects even after they were re-employed as district school teachers at the completion of Duerr's contract in 1868. Besides teaching in the St. Joseph School District 9, others (Sisters Aurelia Bissen, Romana Widmer, and Gonzaga Kevenhoerster) taught in District 108 and three (Sisters Cecilia Kapsner, Hilaria Finske, and Vincentia Phiilipp) taught in District 1 (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives; McDonald, pages 57-60; Idelia Loso, pages 19-21, 36, 39-40).
By 1887, the number of orphans increased to 47 boys and 43 girls and a new wing was added to St. Joseph's Orphanage in St. Paul. However, this orphanage quickly outgrew its downtown location and became a problem for Assumption Parish where they were educated. A suitable place was found at the outskirts of the city on Randolph Street. Here a large orphanage, including farm buildings and a shop for the boys, was built in 1900. Through the years, the sisters' salary remained at $10.00 a month. Despite some diocesan aid, the sisters were forced to go begging for funds throughout the state; some went with wagons, soliciting food from hotels and bakeries. Later this orphanage became known as St. Joseph's Home for Children and eventually was merged with Minneapolis Catholic Boys Home and moved to the Minneapolis location (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). In 1875, St. Joseph's parish, situated in the heart of Minneapolis, opened a small school for 50 pupils under the care of the Sisters of Charity. The following year, because of an expected increase in enrollment, the Benedictine Sisters from St. Joseph, MN, were asked to assume charge of the school. By 1882, a large new parish school was built. Within 30 years, the enrollment increased to 400 with 8 sisters teaching (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). This "cathedral on the prairie," like so many other churches dotting the landscape of Stearns County (sometimes referred to as "Little Germany") was reminiscent of the churches in the Old World. St. Martin's Parish first built the rectory (1875) and eleven years later built this church. They did not build a parochial school at this time, but, like most other German communities, invited the Benedictine sisters in 1877 to teach in the district school at St. Martin. The ensuing conflict so rocked the small Catholic community that the sisters chose to withdraw in 1891. After a sixty-year lapse of time, the parish built a parochial school for 212 pupils and the Benedictine sisters returned to teach there. It is most unusual that, despite the turmoil of the early history of St. Martin, fourty-four young women from St. Martin's Parish joined the Benedictine community in St. Joseph (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in St. Cloud (1869-1909). By 1860, St. Cloud had expanded from its four homes in 1854 to 1,651 citizens. The 1856 church/school/convent was no longer adequate. In 1864, St. Mary's parishioners built a new church on the shores of Lake George. The large Gothic-style church served the parish for almost 60 years . When it was destroyed by fire, another church, the present St. Mary's Cathedral, was built. St. Mary's Parish eventually solved the school controversy by building its own parochial school. The first one in 1887 was a one-story frame building to accommodate 180 pupils. In 1896, a large parochial school, still in use today, was built next to St. Mary's Church (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives ; Witte, pages 10-11, 17; Dominik, John, J. pages 12-14, 20).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Considered the midpoint between Lake Osakis and Sauk Rapids, Sauk Centre grew around a store built in 1861. Soon railroads linked the town with Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud and Manitoba. The settlers built a new parochial school in 1896. It was one of the largest buildings in Sauk Centre -- a three-story structure with classrooms and a music room on the first two floors, living quarters for three Benedictine sisters on third floor and a full basement for parish meetings and activities. A first communion event (see photo) was always celebrated by the entire parish in German communities (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
By 1889 the increased patient rate at St. Benedict's Hospital forced the sisters to look for larger quarters. John Coates and Daniel H. Freeman offered the sisters a five-acre site on the east side of the Mississippi River near the reformatory. The following year, because they were assured that a bridge, road, and even a streetcar line would connect that site with St. Cloud proper, the sisters built a three-story, up-to-date hospital there. Upon Bishop Otto Zardetti's request, it was named St. Raphael's Hospital. For ten years they labored against odds to make this venture a success in spite of the fact that the transportation facilities never materialized. When it became obvious that the site was unsatisfactory, the sisters planned to build another St. Raphael's Hospital (II), this time back on Ninth Avenue next to the site of their first hospital, St. Benedict's Hosptial (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives, McDonald, pages 256-257).
After the fire in 1905, St. Raphael's Hospital (II) was restored and the 3rd and 4th floors added on; this increased its capacity to 90 beds. The building to the right was then converted from an art/music academy to St. Raphael's Hospital School of Nursing (1908-1928). In 1915 the School of Nursing received state accreditation and in 1928 was moved to the new St. Cloud Hospital. [Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives , McDonald, ppage258-259]
Building at the far left is the former first hospital (St. Benedict's) converted to the nursing school. In 1928, when St. Raphael's Hospital was no longer adequate, the sisters built their fourth hospital in St. Cloud, named St. Cloud Hospital; the School of Nursing was moved to that new site. St. Raphael's Hospital was then converted to a home for the elderly, known as St. Raphael's Rest Home; later it became a retirement center for the Sisters of St. Benedict. Then in 1999, it was purchased by a private organization to serve as a shelter for the poor and homeless called "Place of Hope" (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). In 1903 the sisters built a separate house to be used as an infirmary for students on St. Benedict's Convent campus. Because of its segregation from other buildings, it was ideal for isolating patients with contagious diseases; hence dubbed the "pest house." A few years after it was built, more than 100 students and candidates were stricken in the diphtheria epidemic. This building still exists today. It was moved closer to Minnesota Street in St. Joseph and renovated for use as the convent guest house (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). In 1881, the Benedictine sisters began teaching in the parish/district school in Luxemberg, averaging 90-100 pupils for a number of years and increasing to 140 as its peak enrollment. In subsequent years the enrollment stabilized to around 100 pupils. The parish continues to support its Catholic school and the Benedictine sisters who have served there for 124 years (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).