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A HISTORY OF MOUNT SAINT VINCENT "This Vincentian message is the charism of the Sisters of Charity. It summarizes the moral foundation of democracy. It is the reason the Sisters of Charity founded the College of Mount Saint Vincent: to prepare themselves and others for lives of accomplishment, leadership, and service.
...In 1847, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of New York became an independent congregation. That year, before there were public colleges or even high schools for women in New York, they founded the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent—the first institution to offer higher learning for women in New York. The Academy was located with the new Motherhouse at McGowan’s Pass at the northeast corner of what is now Central Park.
The Academy was no finishing school. Since ancient Athens, and certainly since St. Augustine, the liberal arts have served as preparation for a life of choice, responsibility, and service. The Sisters of Charity committed the Academy to liberal education, and it developed an extraordinary reputation for academic rigor and quality.
In 1859, the Academy and the Motherhouse moved to Riverdale, N.Y., establishing the Mount Saint Vincent campus overlooking the Hudson River. The Academy grew, and the Sisters opened schools, hospitals, and an array of services for the poor. One free school was at Mount Saint Vincent, where the great playwright Eugene O’Neill studied as a boy. By the close of the nineteenth century, the Academy was recognized among the finest institutions of higher learning for women in the region. By 1898, like Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, and other “female seminaries,” the Academy changed its corporate status to prepare to claim its equal role and title as a college for women." Read the full article on the College's website.

THE CONVENT OF CENTRAL PARK AND A FAMOUS REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITE

Pictured below is a "remarkable structure that once dominated the scenery on the northern side of Central Park. This was the Academy of Saint Vincent on a hill that bore its name. Located on the northern portion of the park, next to the charming Harlem Meer (and nearest 103rd Street), the Academy sat nestled amid a collection of hills and bluffs left over from its original pre-park topography...In 1847 the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul arrived at the still-bucolic region of Manhattan and opened the Academy of St. Vincent, a school and convent." Read the rest of the story.

COLLEGE OF MOUNT SAINT VINCENT CELEBRATES 100 YEARS

The charter that created the College of Mount Saint Vincent was celebrated 100 years later with a Centennial Founder's Day celebration on campus...Although the school was originally founded as the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity of New York, a high school for women, the Trustees of the University of the State of New York amended the charter in 1911 that created the College of Mount Saint Vincent, which became co-educational in 1974...The high school continued as an institution for women on the Bronx campus until 1940, but moved to Tuxedo Park, New York, and was closed in 1972. {Excerpted from the New York Post 4/28/2011}

MARY NIEWENHOUS GORMLEY, CLASS OF 1942

N.B.: Mary, a longtime President of our Alumnae Association, delighted attendees at the October 14, 2017, Luncheon with a glimpse into life at the Academy in the years leading up to WWII. Your can view the full address on YouTube (18 min.)

MOUNT SAINT VINCENT PLAQUE, CENTRAL PARK

Located in the northwest of Conservatory Garden. Dedicated: May 2, 1995; Inscription: Near this site along the old Kingsbridge Road stood the first Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity Saint Vincent de Paul of New York and the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent, 1847-1859

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1883 COMMENCEMENT REPORTED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES

MOUNT ST. VINCENT ACADEMY. - The thirty-seventh annual Commencement of the Mount St. Vincent Academy, which occurred yesterday afternoon, was very largely attended by the Catholic clergy and laity of this City...

COLLEGE Of MOUNT SAINT VINCENT: A FAMOUS CONVENT SCHOOL

1917 publication - The full text of the book may be viewed on the internet or downloaded.

A DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ACADEMY OF MOUNT ST. VINCENT ON-THE-HUDSON, NEW YORK CITY. 1847-1884

... Paperback – August 25, 2016 by Mary C Dodge (Author)