Sainte-Famille Academy

GENERAL

Type / Purpose

School, current museum

Location

399 du Couvent Street, Tracadie-Sheila, New Brunswick

Description

Sainte-Famille Academy is a four-storey Italianate wooden building located on Du Couvent Street near the center of Tracadie-Sheila and the local cemeteries. It was built from 1910 to 1912 by the Religious Hospitallers of Saint-Joseph and was originally a school before becoming museum.

Heritage Value

Sainte-Famille Academy is recognized as a Provincial Historic Site for its relationship with the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph and for its Colonial architecture.
 
Sainte-Famille Academy was created by the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph. The group was the first French religious community of women to build and operate a free school in New Brunswick. The St. Joseph’s Religious Hospitallers were motivated by their desire to educate the orphans in their care and the local children. Additionally, the academy was used to promote Acadian culture and arts. The academy first opened in September 1912, hosting 200 students. Originally a private school, it became public in 1967, by that point having a student body of over 5000.
 
Sainte-Famille Academy is also exemplary of Colonial architecture, as shown by its symmetrical massing, medium-pitched hipped roof, and regular rectangular fenestration. Construction for the academy was performed by the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph under the instructions of Mgr. Thomas F. Barry. The design plans for the buildings were created by Sister Marie-Anne Doucet, with the help of Sister Isabelle Sormany. In 1968, a small museum was opened inside the building by Sister Dorina Frigault, which is called the Tracadie Historical Museum and remains open to this day.

Heritage Recognition

Municipal Register of Local Historic Places (2006/07/24)

ARCHITECTURE

Date of Construction

1910-1912

Character Defining Elements

- Four-storey wooden structure
- Cross-shaped floor plan
- Regular fenestration, with a Palladian window on the front façade and a gable window on the roof
- Hipped roof with a bell turret at its center
- Bell in turret is signed with the phrase "Stockholm 1802"
- Proximity to nuns’ cemetery, the lepers’ cemetery, and the Tracadie cemetery

Additions/Major Alterations

The Tracadie Historical Museum opened inside the academy in 1968.

Builder/Building Company

Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph

Architect/Designer

Mgr. Thomas F. Barry, Sister Anne Doucet, Sister Isabelle Sormany

OWNERSHIP HISTORY

Notable Historic Occupants

Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph:
Builder and original owners. A group of French religious women who built and operated a free school to educate the orphans in their care and other local children, as well as to promote Acadian culture and arts.

Sister Dorina Frigault:
Opened a museum in the building in 1968.

SOURCES AND DOCUMENTS

Links/Related Content Photos

1933 photograph of Sainte-Famille Academy, provided by the Town of Tracadie-Sheila. Image taken from historicplaces.ca.

Sources Contributors

Gabrielle Byrne

Copyright 2023