Description

Far view of the hospital and academy from North Marina Street in Prescott, located between Willis and Sheldon Streets. Handwriting on back of the photograph is: "Hospital of Sisters of St. Joseph, Prescott. Built first in 1876 - Built anew and enlarged in June '95. Burned in June 1940."

In 1876, six French Catholic nuns from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet arrived in Prescott and established a hospital and school for the town's miners, railroad workers, and their children. The hospital and adjoining school, known as St. Joseph's Hospital and Academy, was located in a small house on the corner of Alarcon and Willis Streets. The residence was likely purchased from Stephen Gilberton Marcou, a Frenchman and local attorney.

In the late 1880s, another building and grounds was purchased on Marina Street for the hospital and academy. During that time, the building became a boarding and day school. The school then moved to a larger house on North Marina Street in 1890, adjacent to the newly built Sacred Heart Church. St. Joseph's Academy remained in operation until 1957, until a new Catholic academy was opened by Sacred Heart Church. Source: Sharlot Hall Museum: The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and the Early History of St. Joseph's Academy in Prescott, Arizona (1877-1910) by Kathleen Fox, 2004.