College of Mount St Vincent - Parapet Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

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The Stnry nf Um' llulleqe VVHEN ONE GLANCES about the beautiful campus of Mount Saint Vincent today, it is hard to believe that these spacious build- ings and these extensive grounds grew out of a little, old-fashioned house on 109th Street and 5th Avenue, the efforts of a small group of courageous women and a dollar bill. In l846, the New York branch of the Sisters of Charity, at that time numbering thirty-three, became a separate and inde- pendent Community and Sister Elizabeth Boyle was chosen as its first Mother Su- perior. She recognizcd the ever-increasing need for education among young women and directed all her energies toward filling this need and thus fulfilling one of the principal aims of her Order. With these thoughts in her mind, Mother Elizabeth bought the four-room house in what was then known as Mc- Gowan's Pass, beginning her academy for young girls with little else than a supreme faith in Divine Providence and an equally supreme confidence in the worthiness of the cause which she was undertaking. This faith was justihed from the very start, however, as illustrated in an incident which took place when the first foundations of the school were being laid. When Michael O'Connor, the architect, reported to her for money with which to pay the work- men's wages, Mother, with complete hon- esty, gave him all the money she possessed, one dollar. A way was provided out of this situation when the trustees of Saint Pat- rick's Cathedral heard of the Sisters' finan- cial difficulties. This instance is comparable as an example of faith in Providence with the story told of Sister Irene, who began the New York Foundling Asylum with a five dollar bill. Forty girls enrolled as pupils at the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent that first opening date, September 13, 1847, forming the nucleus around which all the rest has been built. The school life of that time did not vary essentially from that of today. Courses in Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Astronomy were included in the curricu- lum, while concerts, nature walks and visits to the Old Fort in Central Park formed important parts of their extra-curricular activities. During the years that followed, the stu- dent body increased steadily and additions were made to the main building to accom- modate the swelling numbers. Chief among these additions was that of the Chapel, dedicated on March 19, 1855. Yet, despite these additions, the fact remained that the Academy was too small to care for growing demands being made upon it. Added to this was the fact that New York, too, was growing. Central Park extended its limits so that they included the ground upon which the Academy was built. The com- bination of these two facts made it neces- sary for the Sisters to seek a new location for their school. They found it some fif- teen miles from New York City Hall. It vu ..-sl' - I S - --.. t . e '--fa 'A ,f S 4 - - -- , ,fl -nhlfffll , - lm l. ei QA ?i 11-7 -.1 .1 . I I ' .. i' 'V ' ' iviizjtl ll ll .I UQ I-, g 0'6- ' . 'A' - iii F ..' MJ .gQ'l '-ll .' ' ,I .ily 1 gr :tl 'lr::l1 :l.' , yi It '- H- ' .iygtt ytstt D .5 - i r:-. I -, I. in ni-wg :In I --if x-ina!!-LEED! .9fI4u'..iti1 H1151 mm: sire ifjppxfg if - 1p'f.'lffi, Ir? if-1:HQ?t'ZzJQQ'1'gbffffQff-:Q- f'Aj ' ' was fifty-five acres of land, the property of the famous Shakespearian actor, Edwin Forrest. Formal possession was taken of the new property on February 2, 1857 when a statue of Our Lady was placed on the grounds. Later, on july 2, the Feast of the Visita-

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The night the faculty frolicked The Greeks had a word for it.

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tion, Mass was first celebrated in the upper room of Fonthill Castle, which had been built by Mr. Forrest for his home. The cornerstone for the Academy buildings was laid by Archbishop Hughes on September 8, 1857, and two years later, Reverend Edward Lynch offered Mass for the first time in the part of the building which was intended for the novitiate. The familiar tower bell was blessed that year in August and, on September 8, 1859, Commencement was held, the most important event yet held at the new Mount. The Sisters and their students passed through the sad years of the Civil War, during which time they lost their be- loved Father and Founder, Archbishop Hughes, who died january 3, 1864, after a full life of selfless labor. In 1865, the south wing of the Admin- istration Building was completed, contain- ing the music rooms, Study Hall and chapel to Mater Admirabilis. Present stu- dents at the Mount may smile a little, glancing at the quaint old pictures of for- mer Mount girls, demurely attired in bustled' dresses, doing their practicing on harp or piano in these music rooms. In 1866, the course of studies was some- what revised. Mathematics and Latin classics, hitherto electives, were made pre- scribed courses, so that all who were candi- dates for graduation had to form at least a speaking acquaintance with their mys- teries. Around this time, the Hughes gold and silver medals were established for the best essays in Domestic Economy to be awarded on Commencement Day. On June 29, 1872, the Silver Jubilee of the Mount was celebrated in the Grand Exhibition Hall with the Most Reverend Archbishop McCloskey presiding. Aside from the tradition-making significance of the day, it was memorable for the presenta- tion of a life-size bust of Archbishop Hughes which is now in the Science room of the Library. May of 1877 was marked by the visit of Thomas A. Edison to the Mount, where he demonstrated such inventions as the telephone, the phonograph and others then quite recent to an appreciative and won- dering audience. In 1881, the historian john Gilmary Shea presented the Mount with the collection of rare and valuable J ,' ik , I ll' WQJU 3? lfffn J? 'ff' lm 97, I Nxvkl ,X ,V .. -vsp? ff , f f' ' we ,, 49 4195? ff 442 Q' l!M Mi5j ew I 11' 1' , V' .,, .1 I J -A Jgairw. '41 f ' :N , .few 1 E 751, -..nl -V544 ' n :Z 19 fs a 4 4 H - 411 Egg? 4 5' ,fi 4' ' ' -Man' A 4:r6 3 'tTzXl L .a if 'gr 8 3 Y g,.j,.n,K 7' tnI'Vr0 I, 9351 F .aa 1-' my My with ii 7 1 if in 2:19 A r f' w'-ia, 'JV ffl.. 'nil lip- lj U' Mil: , X M TBE! -.t. ?ll,I!lL -tibia coins, now on display in the Social Science room of the Library. The Kelly-Hughes gold and silver medals for Practical Domestic Economy and the Saint Cecelia medals for excellence in music were founded about this same time. The former were intended to awaken in- terest in such womanly accomplishments as good sewing, household management, and some knowledge of the culinary art. Students at the Mount put these accom- plishments to good use a few years later at the Catholic Educational Exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Here, they displayed work in the fields of Domestic Science, Languages, Literature, Mathe- matics and Science. Three years later, on February 19th, the Alumnae Association of the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent was formed in Brooklyn at the home of Mrs. Charles F. Nagle, who was elected its lirst president, and the Mother Superior of Mount Saint- Vincent as Honorary President. ' The years between 1897 and 1910 were full ones with many important changes