History of St. Mary's
"Maximizing Each Child's Potential
in a Loving, Christian Environment"
History
On September 27, 1889, the day after Saint Mary's Church was dedicated, three
Benedictine sisters from Creston, Iowa arrived in Guthrie and opened the first
parochial school in the Oklahoma Territory.
The sisters, Sister Alphonse Reid, Sister Rosalie Flynn, and Sr. Alogisa Kenucana, taught in a make shift classroom located in an unfinished part of the church and consisting of desks make from planks of wood and nail barrels.
A few months later, on Thanksgiving Day, the school was transferred to a
two-story building. The classrooms were downstairs and the living quarters
for the sisters were upstairs.
Saint Mary's Catholic School flourished until the Great Depression. In 1933, when even the most devout Catholic not only lacked money for transportation but also for tuition, the school was forced to close it's doors.
Fortunately, with the advent of the post war boom,
Bishop McGuiness instructed Father John J. Sullivan to build a new school at
Saint Mary's.
The
order to build a new school placed a tremendous burden on the parish, which had
only sixty-seven families and a yearly income of $4000.00. Construction of
Saint Mary's School cost $86,000.00 and did not include the purchase of the
convent. In addition to the expense of the school, Saint Mary's
parishioners redecorated the church and purchased lots on Mansur Avenue. In spite
of the debt and the small size of the parish, Saint Mary's School was paid
for in just one year.
The sense of pride and stewardship that built the school still exists today. Saint Mary's School is a source of great joy and love. With a new Apple mobile laptop computer lab, updated library and preschool facilities, the addition of 7th and 8th grade, and improvements to the gymnasium and stage the school continues to offer excellence in education. Saint Mary's School is striving to keep pace with progress. It is our hope that this generation's aspirations and dreams will be added to the rich heritage we have inherited from three determined Benedictine Sisters.
