Today in Wheeling History: March 14--The Virginia General Assembly approved the incorporation of the Academy of the Visitation in Wheeling (1850).
On March 14, 1850, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act which incorporated the Academy of the Visitation in Wheeling. Its name was later changed to Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy.
Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy, a private Catholic all-girls school in Wheeling, West Virginia, was founded in 1848 as the Wheeling Female Academy by the Sisters of the Visitation. In 1865, it moved to its final location, a new building on the former Steenrod Farm, and assumed its permanent name. The school, known for its strong academic and fine arts programs, was built in the Eclectic Victorian architectural style and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Despite efforts to keep the school open, declining enrollment and rising operating costs led to its closure in 2008 after 160 years of operation. The closure was announced on January 18, 2008, with the school citing a 20% decline in enrollment from the previous year and heating costs exceeding $11,000 per month. The school had 134 students enrolled in grades 7-12 at the time of the announcement. In 2011, Wheeling Hospital purchased the property, and despite being listed as a 2011 Endangered Property by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, the school was demolished in November of that year. In November 2013, Wheeling Jesuit University opened the Mount de Chantal Conservatory of Music in honor of the Visitation Sisters of Mount de Chantal.
To learn more: (https://tinyurl.com/v8aszkct) (https://tinyurl.com/bdf63wky) (https://tinyurl.com/yeyw3ce4) (https://tinyurl.com/mjpnakb2) (https://tinyurl.com/dtsxh7ey) (https://tinyurl.com/y4wv4ksm)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
On March 14, 1850, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act which incorporated the Academy of the Visitation in Wheeling. Its name was later changed to Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy.
Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy, a private Catholic all-girls school in Wheeling, West Virginia, was founded in 1848 as the Wheeling Female Academy by the Sisters of the Visitation. In 1865, it moved to its final location, a new building on the former Steenrod Farm, and assumed its permanent name. The school, known for its strong academic and fine arts programs, was built in the Eclectic Victorian architectural style and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Despite efforts to keep the school open, declining enrollment and rising operating costs led to its closure in 2008 after 160 years of operation. The closure was announced on January 18, 2008, with the school citing a 20% decline in enrollment from the previous year and heating costs exceeding $11,000 per month. The school had 134 students enrolled in grades 7-12 at the time of the announcement. In 2011, Wheeling Hospital purchased the property, and despite being listed as a 2011 Endangered Property by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, the school was demolished in November of that year. In November 2013, Wheeling Jesuit University opened the Mount de Chantal Conservatory of Music in honor of the Visitation Sisters of Mount de Chantal.
To learn more: (https://tinyurl.com/v8aszkct) (https://tinyurl.com/bdf63wky) (https://tinyurl.com/yeyw3ce4) (https://tinyurl.com/mjpnakb2) (https://tinyurl.com/dtsxh7ey) (https://tinyurl.com/y4wv4ksm)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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