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Sister Barbara traces St. Mary's Institute history to O'Fallon redevelopment; cemetery perpetual care transferred to Assumption Parish
Summary
Sister Barbara presented an illustrated history of St. Mary's Institute and the motherhouse campus, described its conversion to senior housing and a skilled-care facility (Abbey Senior Health), and said the cemetery's perpetual care and ownership was transferred to Assumption Parish in March 2025.
Sister Barbara delivered a detailed, illustrated presentation on the history, buildings and civic role of St. Mary's Institute in O'Fallon and described recent reuse of the campus.
The presentation traced campus construction and additions from the 1870s through the 1970s, described the original rectory and garage structures and highlighted surviving features such as the cemetery, a mortuary chapel (removed in 1960) and a clock tower dedicated on Dec. 30, 1999. Sister Barbara recounted the congregation's educational work (the academy opened as a high school in 1923 and closed in 1990) and listed sisters who taught and served the community.
Sister Barbara outlined the adaptive-reuse work: the developer partnership converted motherhouse buildings into senior housing apartments and a skilled-care facility now known as Abbey Senior Health. She said Abbey Cottages, an assisted-living unit with eight bedrooms (two doubles) staffed 24/7, opened in May 2023; she noted one resident moved in at age 100.
Sister Barbara stated that in March 2025 Sister Janice Bader and Father Nicholas Kestenholtz signed paperwork transferring perpetual cemetery care and ownership to Assumption Parish. She narrated changes to the cemetery over time (wooden crosses replaced by concrete in 1909, granite markers in 1998) and described ongoing efforts to document items and photos for a proposed virtual museum project.
During audience Q&A, commissioners asked about identifying the 'Westhoff House' and whether sisters taught at St. Dominic; Sister Barbara confirmed the Westhoff House is the Crackle House (later the Crackel/Krekel House) and said she taught at the college level rather than at St. Dominic. She also said she had not found archival material on prohibition-era activities. The presentation closed with thanks and the commission adjourned.
