Saint John's Catholic Prep (formerly known as St. John's Literary Institution) is a private, Roman Catholic, coeducational, college preparatoryhigh school in Buckeystown, Maryland, located just southwest of Frederick City. At the time of its founding in 1829, it was located on Second Street in eastern downtown Frederick. Beginning in 1958 and for 45 years thereafter, the school was housed in the historic "Prospect Hall" mansion, (1787–1803), also just southwest of Frederick. St. John's was the first independent Roman Catholic school in the state of Maryland. It was also the first Roman Catholic secondary school in the state of Maryland.
In 1756, a small Roman Catholic boys' school was opened in Frederick, Maryland, which provided a space for class and mass to be held. The population of Frederick was expanding, and in 1763 the first Roman Catholic Church (under the Archdiocese of Baltimore) St. John's Frederick-Town Church, was constructed by Father John Williams, the first priest and pastor in Frederick.[2] This new structure would house classes for 66 years.
John McElroy, SJ (1782–1877)
In 1822, a Jesuit priest, Father John McElroy, (1782–1877), was appointed to the pastorate at "St. John's Frederick-Town Church" in Frederick. His first major action was to work with the religious order Sisters of Charity in nearby Emmitsburg, Maryland to help five sisters opening the "St. John's Female Benevolent and Frederick Free School" in Frederick, in January 1824.[2]
With the educational needs of Frederick's girls gradually being met, McElroy's next task was to found an educational institution for boys in the town. In 1822, subscriptions were being taken and construction of the boys school had begun on East Second Street (in the eastern section of downtown Frederick) by August 7, 1828. It was completed the following year, and opened in 1829 as "St. John's Literary Institution".[3] Occasionally known thereafter as "St. John's College", the school was an academic rival to Georgetown College, founded earlier in (1829) near Washington, D.C. by the first American Bishop John Carroll, the Archbishop of Baltimore. After several years of running St. John's in Frederick, Fr. McElroy was transferred to Boston in 1847; there he would use the skills he acquired in Frederick to establish the nationally known Boston College, and its preparatory institution, Boston College High School along with the Church of the Immaculate Conception, all "Jesuit" institutions.[4]
Original location of The St. John's Literary Institution on East Second Street in Frederick, Maryland, founded 1829
The Jesuits left Frederick in 1903, and transferred control of the St. John's Literary Institution and the parish of St John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church to diocesan priests from Baltimore, Maryland.[2] In 1915, Father William Kane, the first diocesan pastor of St. John's the Evangelist of Frederick, arranged for the educationally focused women's religious order, the School Sisters of Notre Dame to help staff the school. He also combined classes from the girls' Visitation Academy and the boys from St. John's to create the first co-ed school under the name of St. John's L.I.[5]
St. John's then began allowing girls to enroll for classes in 1925. With attendance expanding, the original school structure built on Second Street by founder Father John McElroy in 1828 was demolished and a new building was erected in its place in the eastern sections of downtown Frederick.[5]
In 1958, the School separated and the high school of grades 9 to 12 moved from the East Second Street location, which would continue to house what was to be called "St. John's Elementary School" to the newly purchased Prospect Hall, a large mansion constructed on old "Red Hill" southwest of town off of Jefferson Pike and the new Butterfly Lane, built 1787-1803 and most recently owned by a former U.S. Representative (Congressman) Joseph H. Himes, (also source for the renamed nearby road segment and postal address of Himes Avenue). An additional temporary building was constructed at the rear of the mansion providing additional classrooms, an auditorium and gymnasium.
At about this time the school was colloquially renamed "St. John's at Prospect Hall"—a name which was used almost as often as its traditional name, St. John's Literary Institution.[6]
The School Sisters of Notre Dame withdrew from staffing and leading St John's in 1972, and under the pressure and possibility of closure, a group of parents, alumni, faculty and parishioners pooled their energies and resources to recharter St. John's as the first independent Roman Catholic School in Maryland, with a Board of Trustees.[5][6] During the early 21st century, the school's Physical Education Department and interscholastic athletics programs became known statewide for their athletic success, especially in basketball, winning several state titles and scoring high on the local newspapers' lists of top high school teams. By 2005, having outgrown the facilities at Prospect Hall, St. John's acquired 46 acres of land in nearby Buckeystown, Maryland (further southwest of Frederick along the Buckeystown Pike), adjacent to the property of St. Thomas More Academy (Buckeystown, Maryland). Embarking upon its new goal of moving from the historic "Prospect Hall" mansion property, by whose name it had been known by for almost 45 years, the School began a "re-branding" campaign and changed its title to "Saint John's Catholic Prep".
On Monday, December 5, 2011, Saint John's agreed to buy the former St. Thomas More Academy property in Buckeystown for an undisclosed amount. The property was assessed by the state Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation on January 1, 2010, and was valued at $5,424,400.[7]
With its holdings now encompassing the original St. Thomas More buildings, and with the construction of more classrooms and sports fields, Saint John's Catholic Prep moved from Prospect Hall to the Buckeystown campus in January 2013. Classes there officially began January 14, 2013, with the school ready to continue its 184-year-old tradition of academic excellence in western Maryland.[7]
Academics
In addition to standard and honors high school level courses, Saint John's Catholic Prep also offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses and dual-credit courses with Frederick Community College, both of which are taught at a college level. St. John's offers many AP classes in language, math, science, history, and even art.[8]
Samuel Mudd (1833 - 1883), an American physician imprisoned for alleged conspiracy providing aid to John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Mudd during his imprisonment at Fort Jefferson, Florida single-handedly created a method for treating the Yellow Fever epidemic at the fort in 1868. Due to his efforts, a petition was submitted and pardon was granted by President Andrew Johnson for his heroic lifesaving work.
1 2 3 "ST JOHN'S CATHOLIC PREP". Private School Universe Survey. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
1 2 3 Williams and McKinsey (1910).History of Frederick County, Maryland, Volume 1, p. 381,446-447,510-511. Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore. ISBN9780806380124.
↑ Shea, John Gilmary. Memorial of the first century of Georgetown College, D.C., p 81. P.F. Collier, New York
↑ O'Tool James (Summer 2007). "The old man, A life in the fray prepared John McElroy for the start-up of Boston College", "Boston College Magazine".
1 2 3 "History=St. John Regional Catholic School Website". "St Johns - History". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-07-27.. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
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Aloysius Carroll Galvin S.J. was an American Jesuit priest, administrator and teacher. He served as academic dean at Loyola College in Baltimore from 1959 to 1965. He was selected as the 17th president of the University of Scranton, which he led from 1965 until 1970. Galvin spent much of the rest of his career teaching mathematics at Georgetown Prep from 1970 until 2007. Nicknamed "Wish" by his family, friends and students, he was frequently voted a favorite teacher.
John McElroy was born in Ireland in 1782, and emigrated to the United States in 1803. McElroy enrolled in Georgetown University in 1806, the same year in which he joined the Society of Jesus as a lay brother. His brother Anthony also became a Jesuit. Fr. McElroy assumed the management of Georgetown's financial affairs. He was ordained a priest in 1817. In 1822 he was sent to Frederick, Maryland, where he was to remain for 23 years as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in downtown Frederick. It was in Frederick that he founded St. John's Literary Institution. During the Mexican–American War, McElroy served as an Army chaplain, and on his return from Mexico he went to Boston, where he established Boston College and Boston College High School.
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Bernard A. Maguire was an Irish-American Catholic priest and Jesuit who served twice as the president of Georgetown University. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United States at the age of six, and his family settled in Maryland. Maguire attended Saint John's College in Frederick, Maryland, and then entered the Society of Jesus in 1837. He continued his studies at Georgetown University, where he also taught and was prefect, until his ordination to the priesthood in 1851.
James A. Ryder was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of several Jesuit universities in the United States. Born in Ireland, he immigrated with his widowed mother to the United States as a child, to settle in Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. He enrolled at Georgetown College and then entered the Society of Jesus. Studying in Maryland and Rome, Ryder proved to be a talented student of theology and was made a professor. He returned to Georgetown College in 1829, where he was appointed to senior positions and founded the Philodemic Society, becoming its first president.
Charles Henry Stonestreet was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who served in prominent religious and academic positions, including as provincial superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province and president of Georgetown University. He was born in Maryland and attended Georgetown University, where he co-founded the Philodemic Society. After entering the Society of Jesus and becoming a professor at Georgetown, he led St. John's Literary Institution and St. John the Evangelist Church in Frederick, Maryland. He was appointed president of Georgetown University in 1851, holding the office for two years, during which time he oversaw expansion of the university's library. The First Plenary Council of Baltimore was held at Georgetown during his tenure.
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Frederick, Maryland, part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Founded in 1763, after the repeal of the British penal laws, as the first Catholic church in Frederick County, the parish occupied two former buildings before the completion of the present Greek Revival church in 1837. At the time of its opening, the church was the largest parish church in the United States and was the first Catholic church to be consecrated in the Diocese of Baltimore. Today, the church remains the tallest building in the city of Frederick.
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