History of St. Mary's School, Canandaigua New York
In 1849, five years after St. Mary's Parish was established, the Reverend Edmund O'Connor began one of the first parochial schools in New York State. The school was located in the city of Canandaigua, which at the time was part of the Buffalo Diocese led by Bishop John Timon.
The first classes at St. Mary's School were held in the basement of the original church, which was located on the corner of Main and Saltonstall Streets. The original convent house was also located on Saltonstall Street and was used for classes as well.
The first 23 children to attend St. Mary's School were John Donnelly, Ann and Kate Donnelly, Roger Mahaney, Michael Hennessy, Thomas Prendergast, John Dwyer, Ellen White, Libbie White, Patrick White, Matthew White, John Harrigan, John Kilkelly, John Mary, Thomas O'Grady, Bridget Morris, Thomas Cummings, Robert Corcoran, Jane McNeilly, Katherine Hynes, Bridget Hynes, and Michael Welsh.
Mr. Thomas Hynes was the first teacher at St. Mary's School. After departing St. Mary's School, he would go on to be ordained a priest and was appointed pastor in Niagara Falls. Mr. Peter Donnelly followed Mr. Hynes and taught during the summer of 1850. He was followed by Mr. Owen Moran who conducted the school until the arrival of the sisters of St. Joseph in 1854.
In 1854 the St. Mary's Orphan Asylum was formed. Records show that in 1856 St. Mary's Academy for Young Ladies, a private school, opened. The Sisters charged $80.00 for board and tuition for the entire school year. The sisters didn't teach male students during the early days of St. Mary's School. The male teachers at this time were W. Frank O'Brien and W. James Jones. The school year began the first Monday of September and continued until the 17th of July.
Now St. Mary's had a free school and a select school. Since Bishop Timon opposed this division of education, of the fifth of February, 1860 while visiting Canandaigua he decided "that all things must be suspended except a parish school in which select and free shall combine." Bishop Timon deemed it necessary on November 14, 1863, to mandate that St. Mary's was to have no select school but a general one for all. Once again, on the eighth of March 1864, Bishop Timon gave orders at Canandaigua to put the two schools together. The Bishop was working towards a parochial school system. After this time, the Sisters of St. Joseph ran the school. The sisters were to remain at St. Mary's school until 1996 when the last two sisters, Sister Benedicta Redmond and Sister Teresa Singer would return to their Mother House in Pittsford, NY. This would end one hundred and forty-two years of devoted service to the Church and school of St. Mary's by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
St. Mary's Church and School became part of the Rochester Diocese in 1868 when it was established under its first Bishop, Bernard J. McQuaid. In 1870, St. Mary's School ran out of space and so the Sisters of St. Joseph petitioned the New York State Legislature for funds to help build a new school. In 1871 the state legislature appropriated $5,000 for such purpose. Under the leadership of Father Dennis English the money was used to purchase the J. Albert Granger property on Gibson and Main Street, for $20,000. The former Granger home converted into a convent, school, and orphanage, opened its doors on July 2, 1873 to the Catholic community of Canandaigua and the surrounding area.
In 1880, under Father Dennis English, the first building of the present St. Mary's School was erected at a cost of $9,000. In 1910 the second building was added under Father Dougherty. The facilities now provided eight large classrooms and a spacious assembly hall. The last addition, under the Reverend Alphonsus Crimmens, was added in 1957 at the cost of $275,000.
St. Mary's School attendance peeked at 550 pupils in the mid 1960's. However, financial problems soon necessitated the imposing of a seven-dollar monthly tuition per family in 1967. At this same time a discussion concerning the possibility of closing grades seven and eighth, which would provide more room for the lower grade levels, began. While this idea did not take hold, this same discussion would take place in 1996 due to budgetary concerns. The families and supporters of the school rallied together to provide a financial plan to avoid closing grades six through eight at this time.
On the 20th of February, 1974, a fire of suspicious origin gutted the 1910 building after school had been dismissed for the day. The $90,000 damage forced 255 pupils in grades one through five to move for the remainder of the school year into temporary classrooms built in the school's gym.
Today St. Mary's is still going strong with almost 200 pupils being taught in a Catholic faith environment. Although this history describes some of St. Mary's School factual history, the true legacy of St. Mary's School is the Christian values that are instilled in all those who attend St. Mary's School. Those Christian values are self-evident in our alumni and students today. They help us remain an integral part of the Canandaigua and Ontario communities.