Historic Name

Historic Villa Maria Academy

Address

819 West 8th Street

Municipality

City of Erie

Tax Parcel

16030042020000

Historic District

Classification

Class 1 (Definitions of Classes)

State Key Number

83453

Historic Function

Domestic - multiple dwelling

Style

Built

1892

Architect

Builder

Barn Type on property

Last Entry Update

7/24/2016

Villa Maria Academy was established by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1891. To build the school, Father Thomas A. Casey bought a parcel of land at 8th and Liberty Streets, selling it to the Sisters of St. Joseph for a dollar. Father Casey funded the construction of the academy’s first building, which was designed by one of Erie’s leading architectural firms, David K. Dean & Sons. Villa Maria Academy was dedicated on May 29, 1892 and became Erie’s first all-girls’ school.

Villa Maria Academy provided a boarding school, day school, music lessons, and private lessons in painting, drawing, and languages for grades first through twelfth. The curriculum focused on providing students with basic secretarial and homemaking skills, as well as the arts. The school was open to students from various social and economic backgrounds. The Sisters of St. Joseph operated an orphanage and allowed those children to be educated at Villa Maria. The Sisters also provided a work-study program that allowed students to work in the laundry room, kitchen, and dining room for reduced tuition. Students of all religious backgrounds were accepted at Villa Maria, but a majority of the girls were Catholic. Within its first few years of operation, Villa Maria’s student population dramatically increased, which prompted the construction of an addition to the original building. Designed by F.F. Hecker of Pittsburgh and built by Kirschner Bros., the new structure was dedicated on June 21, 1904. A college and chapel was adjoined to the original building in 1927, which was designed by Fuller and Stickle and built by Kirschner Bros. The Sisters hired “lay” teachers, or those who were not affiliated with the Catholic Church, to staff Villa Maria College. It was merged with Gannon University in 1993, and the name was dissolved. Villa Maria Academy was relocated in 1953 to its present location on West Eighth Street. The Elementary division was also moved to this site. In 2016, Villa Maria Academy educates grades ninth through twelfth, and has over 360 students. Although the school became coeducational in 1989, in 2012, the school returned to an all-girls academy. The original site of Villa Maria Academy is now owned by Erie’s Housing and Neighborhood Development Service, who has renovated the campus for low-income and senior housing.

Sources:

Historic Villa Maria Academy National Register nomination

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Photo courtesy, Erie County Assessment Office