Sacred Heart, Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Pottawatomie County
Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma
Pottawatomie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 65,521 as of the 2000 census. Its county seat is Shawnee...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Established in 1879 by Father Isidore Robot as a Catholic mission on the old Pottawatomie
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
reserve, it was originally named Sacred Heart Mission. The name was changed to Sacred Heart in 1888 shortly before the area was opened to settlement by non-Indians. The post office was closed in 1954. The mission site is located nine miles east of US 177 (Asher, Oklahoma
Asher, Oklahoma
Asher is a town in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 393 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Asher is located at , at the intersection of U.S. Highway 177 and State Highway 39 in Pottawatomie County...
) on SH 39, then one mile north on Sacred Heart Road.
Establishment
In October 1876, Father Isidore Robot completed a deal with the Citizen Band Potawotami Indians for a tribal grant of land which included the current site of Sacred Heart Mission. Pioneering the mission was difficult. On Sunday, May 13, 1877, the first Mass at Sacred Heart was celebrated. Sacred Heart was not permanently occupied until June 7, 1877, which is regarded as the true founding date of the parish.The Saint Mary's Academy was establsihed in 1880 for the education of girls, along with a boarding school for boys, the Sacred Heart Institute. By 1884, there was a convent, a school for the girls, stables, employees' houses, blacksmith shop, tool house, carpenter shop, and a bakery-where the Sisters baked 500 French loaves each day. A model farm - with a great variety of orchards, gardens, vineyards, fields, herds of animals and every form of agriculture was developed. The farm had two main purposes: to supply food for the institution and to provide a model for the Indian boys to copy. The mission had its own publication, the Indian Advocate, which was published from 1888 to 1910 in the bakery building. In 1884 the Sacred Heart College was established, offering secondary and tertiary education for boys.
1901 Fire
On the night of January 15, 1901, a fire broke out in the dining room of the Indian Boys School and swept out of control. Before it was over the blaze had destroyed the monastery, boys' school, college, girls' school, convent, and the church. The entire mission was destroyed with the exception of a few small buildings. The bakery and the two-story log cabin are the only buildings that remain today. Temporary wooden buildings were set up to carry on the boys' school, while the Sisters of Mercy moved one-quarter of a mile southeast to create a new St. Mary's Academy. Mass was celebrated in a converted granary. The present church was begun in 1905, but was not completed until 1914.By 1910, the Benedictines went on from Sacred Heart to build St. Gregory's College in Shawnee, OK. A large Tudor-Gothic structure, now Benedictine Hall
Benedictine Hall (Shawnee, Oklahoma)
Benedictine Hall at St. Gregory's University, also known as St. Gregory's Abbey and College, is the central feature of the university, housing its administration, library and most of its classes. Designed by St. Louis architect Victor Klutho, the facility opened in the fall of 1915 in Shawnee,...
of St. Gregory's University
St. Gregory's University
St. Gregory's University is a private, co-educational Catholic liberal arts university. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It has its main campus in Shawnee, and an additional campus in Tulsa.-History:St...
, was under construction by 1913, opening its doors for high school and college students for its first term in 1915. An elementary school for boys continued at Sacred Heart until 1926. Sacred Heart remained as their motherhouse for many years, until its transfer to Mt. Saint Mary's in Oklahoma City. The transfer of the educational and monastic endeavors to St. Gregory's College was complete by the early 1930.
The Sisters of Mercy founded numerous educational and medical facilities across the state, including St. Mary's Academy and Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City.
Description
The townsite contains a number of extant buildings and ruins.The most significant building on the site is the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, completed in 1914. It is located at the top of Bald Hill, represented as the highest point in Pottawatomie County. The church is an example of a restrained style of Gothic Revival, with a red tile roof and a stumpy front tower. Nearby are two cemeteries, one for the susters and one for the abbey. Other buildings include one and two-story log houses dating to the late 1800s and a two-story sandstone bakery. The foundations of the school buildings and other structures are visible as well. A priest's home, parish hall and maintenance building are non-contributing structures.
The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on September 15, 1983.