St. Paul's Convent

On May 30, 1923, the Rt. Rev. John P. Carroll, bishop of Helena, laid the cornerstone for the St. Paul’s Parochial School. Built in the center of this block under the direction of Rev. A. R. Coopman, the school long served the children of St. Paul’s parish. This building, completed at the same time, housed the Ursuline Sisters in charge of the school.

The ground floor contained an office, living room, large dining room, kitchen, and chapel while the second floor was divided into ten sleeping rooms. The debt for the $115,000 school complex, built largely with pledges from parish members, was nearly three-fourths paid when Father Coopman passed away in 1927.

After World War II, the Ursulines withdrew and the school came under the care of the Benedictine Sisters until it closed in the mid-1970s. The school building was razed in 1984. The convent remains as it appeared in 1923. Classical columns, a copper-shingled roof, original plaster walls and ceilings, floors of Michigan maple, and Gothic arches marking the chapel complement the basic American foursquare form.