Mount Loretto History

Mount Loretto History. . , From this point, you are looking out on the 200-acre Mount Loretto Unique Area. St. Elizabeth’s hospital stood at this location for 103 years. In burned down in 1999. Other buildings, including schools, an orphanage and a villa were also on the property. The concrete pads from the recreation areas are still visible., The original Mt. Loretto orphanage was located in Manhattan. In 1882, Fr. Drumgoole relocated the orphanage to this location; on the site of the old Bennett farm. The diocese purchased the property on the north side of Hylan Blvd; where the church is currently located., Until 1967, these open fields were farm fields operated by the orphanage. At its peak, the farm housed over 300 head of cattle, chickens and 50 horses. The last cows were sold in 1967 and the fields filled., Up the hill to your right is the colonial brownstone, John Cardinal O’Connor Memorial Lighthouse. It was an active beacon for Raritan Bay until the 1920s. It is now the residence of the local Forest Ranger. In 2007, the light was reactivated as a guide. It is solar powered.