Hellmuth Ladies' College, London, Ontario

Description

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

A black and white print of Hellmuth Ladies' College. Several women are socializing on the front lawn. Some are playing croquet.

Notes

Hellmuth Ladies' College was located on Richmond Street North, just south of Windermere Road on the hill overlooking the Thames River. Founded by the Rt. Rev. Isaac Hellmuth, it opened Sept. 23, 1869. The building was purchased in 1899 by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was blessed and opened on April 29, 1900. Initially used as a motherhouse and an orphanage and later in the 1950s as a boarding school for girls. Although the building was demolished in 1976, Mount St. Joseph Academy for girls continued until 1985.
There is a handwritten inscription on the back of the photograph that suggests that the Hellmuth Ladies College eventually became the Mt. Hope Orphanage but city directories and a short history published by the Sisters of St. Joseph, called Mount St. Joseph suggest that the building was always known as Mount St. Joseph, even as its purpose changed. Perhaps it was commonly referred to as Mt. Hope after the Mt. Hope Orphanage moved to the site. The date suggested by the inscription also looks to be wrong considering that the Hellmuth Ladies' College was purchased in 1899 by the Sisters of St. Joseph. PG B2

Inscriptions

[Bishop Hellmuth's Ladies College, now Mt. Hope - about 1905.]

Date of Original

ca. 1895

Dimensions