St. Catherine Academy

St. Catherine Academy. A Roman Catholic School on the Frontier. This was the site of St. Catherine Convent and Academy. When it opened in 1858, it was one of two Roman Catholic schools in Arkansas. Opportunities for a classical education were rare in Arkansas and the school founded by the Sisters of Mercy flourished., Bringing Education to Arkansas , In 1845, the first and at that time only Catholic school in Arkansas closed, the discouraged Sisters of Loretto fleeing Arkansas Post and the frontier. Four years later, Bishop Andrew Byrne founded a school for boys near Fort Smith Shortly afterward, he traveled to his homeland, Ireland, to recruit teachers for a school for young women. To Byrne's dismay, he found that tales of the lawless frontier had preceded him. Finally, the local Bishop relented, allowing four Sisters of Mercy to accompany Byrne to the New World. , "We should praise and bless the hand that wounds us." , Catherine McAuley, St. Catherine Academy , Bishop Byrne purchased the Henry Biscoe estate just outside of Helena. The Sisters of Mercy arrived in January 1858, and established a convent and school in Biscoe's former home Planters and businessmen of all religions sent their daughters to St. Catherine Academy, eager to take advantage of the fine education the Sisters offered., St. Catherine Academy prospered until the Union army occupied Helena in 1862. Many planters left, or sent their families away. Others found their finances reduced. The school had few students, and therefore little income. St. Catherine Academy struggled for several years, finally closing in 1868., Sacred Heart Academy , In 1879, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky. purchased the St. Catherine property and reopened the school as Sacred Heart Academy. A decade later it was one of the finest boarding schools for girls in Arkansas. Sacred Heart Academy was an important part of Helena for ninety years. Lack of funds and teachers forced it to close in 1968. Five years later it was razed. , [Photo captions] , Top right: Founded in 1831 by Catherine McAuley, above, Sisters of Mercy were charged with "the relief of the suffering and the instruction of the ignorant." , Bottom right: St. Catherine Academy occupied the building topped by the cupola in the postcard to the left. Sacred Heart Academy opened in the same building in 1879. Classrooms, dormitories and other additions were constructed between 1880 and 1895. In 1917, the building was faced with brick.