| The History of Quincy St. Mary Institute & Notre Dame High School
Quincy (population 40,366) is located in far west-central Illinois in the west-central portion of Adams County. Interstate Highway 172 will lead you to and from Quincy via Interstate Highway 72 which runs just south of Quincy. U.S. Route 24 also leads you to Quincy along with Illinois Routes 57, 96, and 336. The western most border of Quincy is the Mississippi River with Missouri just a short boat ride across the way. Quincy Bay is another water mark in western Quincy. The Burlington Northern Railroad passes through town as well. A nice history of the town can be viewed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy,_Illinois . In summary, the article states that Quincy was originally settled by caucasian Americans in the very early 1800s. It was named the county seat of Adams County in 1825, a title it continues to hold today. Quincy’s location along the Mississippi River made it an important stopping place for steam boats and travelers in the middle to late 1800s. The history of Quincy’s parochial schools is also a very storied and early development. The web page address of http://www.quincynotredame.org/info/school/history.html provides the following information about Quincy St. Mary Institute and Notre Dame high schools: St. Mary Institute was established in 1873 and offered a two-year course of high school studies. In 1890 a third year of high school was added. A fourth year of high school was added in 1894. In 1910 the name of the school was changed to St. Mary Academy. This arangement would continue for the next 18 years. In 1928 the name of the school was changed to Notre Dame of Quincy. It remained an all girls school until 1940. It was this year that Quincy College Academy for boys closed and the boys began attending Notre Dame of Quincy. In 1959 Notre Dame returned to an all girls school when Quincy Christian Brothers High School opened. Notre Dame High School remained an all girls school until 1975 when it was decided to merge Notre Dame and Christian Brotghers high schools. The merger took place in 1976 with the official title of the now co-educational school called Quincy Notre Dame High School, a name which it holds to this day. Quincy St. Mary Institute / Notre Dame High School Quick Facts Year opened as St. Mary Institute for Girls: 1873 Year expanded to 3-year high school: 1890 Year expanded to 4-year high school: 1894 Year became “St. Mary Academy”: 1910 Year name changed to Notre Dame: 1928 Year boys allowed to attend: 1940 Year Notre Dame became all-girls again: 1959 Year Notre Dame became co-ed again: 1975 (Still Open) |
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