Mount Saint Mary Academy - Mountain Chimes Yearbook (Plainfield, NJ)

Page 12 text:

REVEREND MOTHER MARY GABRIEL undertook the responsibility of erecting the new Motherhouse and Academy at North Plainfield. First, the land had to be surveyed, and a forest had to be cleared and the rock founda- tion of the road laid. Thousands of rocks were taken from the mountain-side, broken and placed for a foundation. Due to the nature of the hill, the road was outlined as it is today, with deep arcs giving a serpentine effect. Half way up, the picturesque slope was selected as the location for the new building. To do this, the men had to penetrate into the heart of the mountain and transfer the dirt in order to form a broad plain as a foundation for the new struc- ture. This gigantic task was directed by Mother Mary Cecelia. On the feast of Mount Carmel, l906, Mother Mary Gabriel turned over the first spade of the Plainfield tract, and in l907, Bishop McFaul laid the cornerstone of the new building dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy. ln less than two years, the construction was com- pleted and the Community changed their loca- tion of the Motherhouse and Academy to North Plainfield. The Bordentown building was sold to the Community of Poor Clares. Mr. Daniel Kenney of North Plainfield was the donor of the large tract of land in the beautiful Watchung Mountains upon which the new building was constructed. 8

Page 11 text:

...ol the Ace em There was also at this time a Mercy Foundation in Princeton which united with the Bordentown Foundation, choosing the latter for the new Motherhouse. ln i885 the corner-stone of the new Motherhouse and Academy on Cross- wicks Street was laid. At the first commencement in the new building, Bishop O'FarreII requested that the Community of the Sisters of Mercy concentrate all its resources on education. The Sisters had for over thirty years devoted their lives to elementary and secondary education in the Diocese of Trenton. They were rewarded for this great work by many spiritual consolations, and, in a material way, by a generous donation from Mr. Daniel Kenney of North Plainfield, New Jersey, of a large track of land in the Watchung Mountains, historically known as the Blue Hills. With the donation grew the idea of transferring the Motherhouse and the Academy. The Most Reverend James Augustine McFaul, D.D,, LL.D., then the ruling Bishop of the Trenton Diocese encouraged the Sisters of Mercy to undertake the grave responsibility of the erection of a new Academy build- ing and the administration of a fully accredited college in North Plainfield. St. Joseph's, New Academy Building in Bordentown.

Page 13 text:

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