 Located in the heart of the historic
district of Wilmington, North Carolina, St. Mary School
lays claim to a rich and unique past. In 1869, Bishop
James Gibbons requested assistance from the Sisters of
Our Lady of Mercy in Charleston, South Carolina to open
a Catholic school in Wilmington. Under the title of the
Academy of the Incarnation, the school began in a house
at 202 Nun Street with an enrollment of thirty-six
students. With several donations and tuition money from
the Academy, the Sisters added a parochial school for
poor girls of the parish called St. Peter's Parochial
School for Girls. In January 1871, The Peden House,
located at the corner of Fourth and Ann Streets near the
site of the present St. Mary Lower School building,
housed St. Peter's. The Academy was later closed.
 Separately but concurrently on the other side of Ann
Street, Amy Morris Bradley with a monetary award from
the philanthropist Mary Tileston Hemenway of Boston
began construction of the handsome structure that would
become the first school in Wilmington to offer free
education. Plans for the Tileston School were drawn by
John A Fox, Esquire, noted designer of the Boston
Museum.
Meanwhile in 1876 to provide Catholic education for
boys, work began on a separate school building situated
on the site now occupied by St. Mary Church at Fifth and
Ann Streets, it was formally opened October 1, 1878 with
an enrollment of fifty boys. Eventually over the course
of time the boys and girls schools were merged into St.
Mary School.
 As was common in southern schools, the Catholic Schools
in Wilmington were segregated. The St. Thomas School was
home to the African American Catholic children. In the
1960's prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the
Diocese of Raleigh merged segregated Catholic Schools.
St. Thomas School was combined with St. Mary School. The
Sisters of the Franciscan Handmaids of Mary joined the
faculty at St. Mary and taught for several years with
the Sisters of Mercy.
Construction of a new church began in 1908 on the site
of the old boys' school. Built on the plan of a Latin
cross in the Spanish Baroque style, the church is
constructed of brick and tile with no steel, wood or
nails in the structure. With its twin steeples and domed
roof, St. Mary Church graces the lovely skyline of
downtown Wilmington today.
 The Sisters of Mercy continued to serve the students of
St. Mary School until 1991. From its humble beginnings
with thirty-six students in 1869 as the state's first
Catholic school, St. Mary School is now part of a parish
compound that includes the church, the rectory, a
convent, the Lower School building, the Tileston
Building, gymnasium, and grounds - the equivalent of a
city block. The school serves about 200 students in
Grades Kindergarten through Eighth. One addition to the
St. Mary Parish buildings constitutes an interesting
story in itself - the Tileston School.
After its construction in 1871, the Tileston School on
Ann Street continued its own storied history. After Amy
Morris Bradley's retirement in 1891, Tileston School,
which had undergone five additions over the century
continued to educate Wilmington's youth serving as a
public elementary middle, and high school. The city of
Wilmington abandoned the building in the 1980's.
Unattended, it quickly fell into deterioration.
Eventually, in 1988 under the direction of Monsignor
Thomas Hadden. St. Mary Parish purchased the complex for
$17000. Renovations began; today the Tileston School
houses the Parish Offices and Meeting Rooms, St. Mary
Outreach Ministry, the Dental and Health Clinics, and
the After-School program. The building is once again a
living part of the neighborhood filled with the bustle
of school children and the ministry of an active
Catholic Parish.
Joining the St. Mary Parish on September 8, 1982 were
the Sisters of the Society of St. Ursula. This order
contributed to the parish and school with work in the
areas of education and especially in the development of
social ministry.
 In 2000, St. Mary underwent a notable change with its
merger with the historic St. Thomas Preschool.
The historic Tileston School building is currently home
to the St. Mary Middle School. Further restoration and
use of this building are underway to facilitate the
needs of the growing PreK-8 school, the St. Mary Parish
and the community.
With the start of the 2009/2010 school year, St. Mary
celebrates 140 years of distinguished tradition in
Catholic education. |
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