St. Viator College 50th Anniversary - Bourbonnais, IL
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 41° 09.376 W 087° 52.584
16T E 426467 N 4556474
This bronze plaque was erected to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of St. Viator College in 1868, by the class of 1921. It is located on the grounds of Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church.
Waymark Code: WMM26T
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 07/06/2014
Views: 1
TO THE MEMORY OF THE
STURDY VIATORIAN PIONEERS
REV. PETER BEAUDOIN
BROTHER BERNARD BROTHER MARTEL
WHO ESTABLISHED A SCHOOL ON THIS SPOT
SEPTEMBER 6, 1865
AND UNDER THE INSPIRED LEADERSHIP OF
REV. THOMAS ROY, C.S.V.
FOUNDED ST. VIATOR COLLEGE A. D. 1868,
AND ALSO TO PERPETUATE THE
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COLLEGE A. D. 1918,
THIS MEMORIAL IS DEDICATED BY
THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF '21
MAY 30, 1921.
From Wikipedia
St. Viator College:
St. Viator's grew out of the original Bourbonnais village school, founded in 1865 by the Viatorians, to an academy for boys with the help of Father P. Beaudoin and Brothers Martel and Bernard, and in 1868 to a four-year liberal arts college with the aid of Father Thomas Roy. After nine years of work, Father Roy returned to his home in Canada, and was succeeded by Father M. J. Marsile, who oversaw the college for another 25 years.
In 1906, several buildings were destroyed by fire, but courses continued in improvised quarters and new buildings were erected. Father Marsile afterward resigned, and Reverend John Patrick O'Mahoney C.S.V. was appointed president. Under financial pressure, it closed in 1939.
After St. Viator's closed in 1939, the campus was purchased by Olivet Nazarene College from Olivet, Illinois. Four buildings on the Olivet Nazarene campus are original from the days of St. Viator's 39-acre campus.