Sisters of St. Joseph Complex added to state’s Register of Historic Places
By Brandi Makuski
The last surviving Catholic campus and former Stevens Point convent is now recognized as a historically significant place.
The Sisters of St. Joseph Third Order of St. Francis Convent Complex, located at 1300 Maria Dr., dates back to 1901.
The Order was established by 46 Polish members of the School Sisters of St. Francis who left their German-American order to serve their fellow Poles by teaching in their parish schools. The complex in served as the founding motherhouse and teacher training academy of the congregation, which ultimately became the largest Polish sisterhood organized in the United States.
To prepare their members for teaching, the Sisters established a high school, St. Joseph Academy, which later accommodated day students in addition to members of the Order. The Sisters also established St. Joseph Junior College within the convent.
The growth of the campus coincided with a great wave of Polish immigration to the United States. In 1964, approximately 40,000 students were enrolled in schools administered and staffed by the Order. Membership peaked in 1967 at 1,331 Sisters.
The property became vacant after the Sisters began relocating their elderly members to another property in Ohio, also attributing a lower number of novitiates into religious service in recent decades to the dwindling need to be kept by the Church.
The property is now called Berkshire at the Grove. General Capital Group of Fox Point, Wis., purchased the 121-year-old convent and Motherhouse from the Sisters in 2021.
The city issued approval to apply for inclusion on this list in June, following a request on behalf of General Capital.
Working with the Sisters, historic preservation experts, and the city, General Capital is converting the former convent building into an 85-unit apartment building. Three additional buildings containing a total of 17 townhouses will be constructed on the north side of the property.
In 2021, the Stevens Point City Council approved extending Union St. north of Maria Dr., which will effectively break up one large lot, approximately 35 acres in size, and create four smaller lots. The existing driveway located east of the existing Maria Dr./Union St. intersection will be removed as part of the redevelopment of the site.
The construction of the roadway extension is nearly completed and accessible from Maria Dr.
The property still contains two cemeteries and a religious grotto. According to Community Development Director Ryan Kernosky, the Sisters would continue to maintain the cemeteries.
The convent building was part of the last Catholic campus in Stevens Point. Previously, the St. Stephen Parish Convent opened in 1954 at 1401 Clark St., but fell into disrepair and could no longer be financially maintained by the church. That convent building was demolished in 2015.
The State Register is the state’s official list of properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin’s heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and the National Register in Wisconsin.
Additional information for the Sisters of St. Joseph Complex is available here.