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Daily Independent Journal from San Rafael, California • Page 62

Location:
San Rafael, California
Issue Date:
Page:
62
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Jmtrnal. San Rafael, California Dominican Sisters Brought College To Marin ONVENT AND building was the rst one to be erected on the Dominican campus in 889 Solid redwood was used in the building that is when the Marin Convent was rimmed by a wide hedge and wooden gates. Later metal gates replaced the original Today both the gates and hedge are gone. (Courtesy of Dominican College) Twenty-one years after the Dominican Sisters sent two nuns to take charge of St. Vincent's Orphanage in 1868.

the mother provincial received permission to move the order's mother house from Benicia to San Rafael, Since then the Dominican have developed a small school into one of the outstanding woman's educational centers in th? West. THE SISTERS ARRIVED in California in 1850, part of a small band who had crossed the Atlantic from Paris to New York by schooner and the Isthmus of Panama on muleback reaching Monterey where they opened a school and novitiate named Santa Catalina. The following year the order received its first postulant. Concepcion Arguello, daughter of Don Jose Arguello. once governor of Alia California and later of Baja California.

Concepcion was born in 1791 at the San Francisco Presidio where her fat her was comrnandante. When still a very young girl, Concepcion met Count Nicolai Rezanov, chamberlain and personal representative of the Czar of Russia, Rezanov tiad traveled to California on a diplomatic mission in the early part of the 19th century. The Russian nobleman fell deeply in love with the dark-eyed California girl and asked her to become his wife. THE ENGAGEMENT was announced and Rezanov left for Russia to make his report before returning to California to claim his bride. But Rezanov never came back.

Many years later, long after Concepcion herself was dead it was learned the Russian nobleman's ship might have been lost at sea. Concepcion became interested in caring for the poor and sick and when the Dominican Sisters arrived in Monterey she asked to be admitted to the order. She was accept- Baptists See 100-Year-Old Plan Fulfilled When tile Golden Gate Theological Seminary opened its doors to students from all over the world in the fall of 1959. a 100-vear-old plan finally had been fulfilled. In 1859 Harvey Gilbert.

Southern Baptist missionary, founded the San Rafael Baptist Institute in Marin County hoping it would develop into a theological seminary. But two years later when civil war wrenched the states apart, all southern missionaries in the area were called home. EIGHTY-FIVE years later a young minister, Isom Hodges, led a group of southern Baptists to California to found a seminary in the area. Two years later control and ownership of the young school was assumed by the Southern Baptist General Convention of California and a seminary site was purchased in Berkeley In 1950. the seminary was made a Southern Baptist Convention Seminary and two years later Harold Graves was elected president.

Under the leadership of Graves a 126-acre building site on tho rolling lulls of Strawberry Point as purchased, and a five-million-dollar building program begun. THE FLEDGLING campus already boasts 28 buildings including 86 family units for married students, dormitories. administration buildings, classrooms and a large athletic field. ed the following year and took the name Sister Mary Dominica. The Domincan Sisters moved their school and novitiate to Benicia 150 miles north to the Carquinez Straits in 1854.

Benicia was the state capital. Daughters of California families were sent to complete their education at St. in Benicia until 1889 when the school was moved to Marin. In 1862. the Sisters opened a school in San Francisco.

St. Rose of Lima that today is a junior and high school at Pine and Pierce Streets, and in 1870 another school, St. Vincent's in Vallejo that is still operating. WHEN THE CAPITAL was moved to Sacramento, Benicia fell into de- cline. and the mother house of St.

Catherine's was beginning worry about survival. The Sisters received a loan to start in San Rafael. Land was purchased from William T. Coleman. Coleman donated half the parcel valued at $20.000.

In 1901 Dominican became accredited to the University of California and 14 years later Dominican Junior College conferred its first bachelor of arts certificate. In 1920 with the aid of the University of California. Dominican became a fully accredited four-year college. IN 1924, the college was empowered by the State Board of Educa- tion to grant certificates for teaching in the public high schools and grade schools of California, and two years later Dominican was placed on the approved list of the Assn. of American Universities.

Today the college is a member of the Western College Assn. The college has promoted a number of firsts over the years including founding of the Marin Branch of the American Assn. of University Women in 1931. In 1932, Dominican was made the Pacific Coast branch of the Catholic University of America. To celebrate the Dominican Sisters centennial in California in 1850 the college initiated a graduate schooL is the Golden Gate Baptist Sem- modern subdivisions.

This area was once part of Juan inary at Strawberry Point as shown in a recent aerial Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio. The photo. In the background is Tiburon Peninsula and inary occupies a 126-acre site overlooking Richardson Bay..

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About Daily Independent Journal Archive

Pages Available:
270,152
Years Available:
1949-1977