On September 11, 1846 eleven Visitation Sisters arrived to found the Visitation Academy of Frederick, the private, all-girls Roman Catholic school that once anchored this corner of the Frederick Historic District. It belonged to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore and grew from early, determined efforts to educate young women here. In 1823 Father John McElroy began negotiations with the Sisters of Charity to establish a school for girls, and in 1824 the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph founded the St. John’s Benevolent Female Free School at 200 East Second Street.
The Sisters ran that school for 22 years before withdrawing to join their congregation at Emmitsburg; before they left, they arranged for Visitation Sisters from Georgetown in Washington, D.C. to take the reins. On September 11, 1846 eleven Visitation Sisters arrived in Frederick and founded the Visitation Academy that would mark this place. The academy was not untouched by the American Civil War: in the period leading up to the war many students were recalled to their homes.
Imagine the steady procession of teachers and pupils through these streets, then picture the architecture and rhythms of the Frederick Historic District.