When they arrived in Newburgh 136 years ago, who could have guessed that just four Dominican Sisters would be the catalyst for the entire educational legacy of Mount Saint Mary College?
On April 9, 1883, Dominican Sisters Hildegarde, Justina, DeSales, and Egbert first set foot in Newburgh, coming at the request of the pastor of St. Mary’s Church. They had arrived by way of a steamship called The Mary Powell. The sisters had come from the motherhouse on Second Street inManhattan where they had been for 30 years since arriving in America from the Holy Cross Convent in Regensburg, Germany.
These first Dominican Sisters of Newburgh would do their brethren proud. Committed to service and study from the start, these four sisters quickly founded Mount Saint Mary’s Academy on the grounds of the McAlpine Estate on Gidney Avenue in Newburgh.
In the early 1910s, the property next door, the Van Duzer estate, was put up for sale. The asking price was $125,000. Mother Emmanuel, who had succeeded Mother Hilder-garde, saw the wisdom of buying it, but the bishop told her to pass on the opportunity. However, Mother Emmanuel was not deterred. She quietly contacted the cardinal, who told her to purchase the estate. She and the sellers agreed on a final price of $65,000, and the deal was completed in 1913.
The purchase consisted of Rosenhof mansion, a carriage house, an ice house, a hothouse, and dozens of acres of land. Rosenhof mansion, the Van Duzer main house, became a residence and later the first building of the college – TheVilla Madonna. The carriage house became Domus Ange-lorum, a music school where the sounds of Steinway pianos filled the air. It is now called Whittaker Hall.
By 1927, the sisters had built and opened Greater MountSaint Mary, a five-story high school in the building now known as the Dominican Center. The Dominican Center’s Chapel of the Most Holy Rosary, the college’s current main chapel, was completed one year later in 1928. Also around this time, a storehouse was rebuilt as the Casa San José, which served as an elementary school.
In 1930, Mount Saint Mary Normal and Training School was certified as a teacher training institute, allowing the sisters to teach in New York elementary schools. Twenty years later, the new Bishop Dunn Memorial School – taking the reins from Casa San José – was accredited by the MiddleStates Commission on Elementary Education. The school was named after Bishop John Joseph Dunn (1870-1933), a friend and benefactor to the sisters in the earlier days of the Academy.
Then, in 1954, Mount Saint Mary College as we know it began to take shape. The Board of Regents granted a provisional charter for Associate of Arts degrees, and the sisters donated 23 acres to the project. The Villa became the college building.
With the four pillars of Dominican Life – study, spirituality, service, and community – guiding them, the Dominican Sisters of Newburgh established Mount Saint Mary College as a four-year institution in October of 1959.
1927
The Mount takes shape
The Dominican Sisters opened Greater Mount Saint Mary, a high school. It was housed in the building now known as the Dominican Center. Top, construction underway. Above, Cardinal Patrick Hayes blessed the Motherhouse.
1957
Learning and literacy
The Center for Developmental Learning and Reading offered literacy and developmental therapy for local children.
