Digital Exhibits

St. Mary's Institute, Beaverton, Oregon

Colorized image of a large institutional building in the American Stick style architecture. Dormer windows indicate a fourth floor underneath the gabled roof, and an octagonal bell tower sits prominently in the middle front of the building. The middle portion of the building was the original motherhouse constructed for the Sisters, completed in 1894. The wings were constructed in the early 1900s, adding a chapel and room for a boarding school. St. Mary's was begun as an orphanage for wayward children in the Beaverton area in 1889, the Sisters arriving in 1891 to take over care of the children and provide religious instruction. In 1902 English was mandated as the convent's primary language, though many of the Sisters' first language was German. Agnes Morressey grew up in Cornelius, Oregon and entered the convent in 1904, at the age of sixteen, eventually taking the name Sister Mary Clare. As a postulant, she was infamous in the community for her inability to keep her postulant's sailor hat in place over her long, thick hair, mostly because she frequently misplaced her hatpin. An accomplished musician, Sister Mary Clare taught music and other subjects in area parochial schools. She died in 1922 of leukemia.

[front][stamped] St. Mary's Institute, Beaverton, Oregon. [back] [ink] Dearest mama, I shall have the happiness of visiting home next Thursday, August 4. I shall leave St. Mary's on the 7:40 A.M. ca[illegible]. Your loving daughter, Sister Mary Clare.

circa 1904-1906

Religious education of children

Convents

Orphanages

Boarding schools

Monasticism and religious orders for women

Nuns as teachers

Mary Clare, Sister

Morressey, Agnes

Religion & Philosophy (General)

Education History

German American Studies

Cultural Studies

Beaverton, Oregon

photographic postcards

English

WCMpic_012390

Online access to this image is for research and educational purposes only. To inquire about permissions, order a reproduction, or for more information, please contact the Five Oaks Museum at Research@FiveOaksMuseum.org.

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

Robert L. Benson Research Library, Five Oaks Museum

Still Image