St. Anthony Catholic School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the Texas Historical Commission marker has to say about St. Anthony Catholic School in Bexar County. Now settle in, because this is a story about people who refused to let a good thing die — but we'll get to that part.

It starts in early 1907, out in the Laurel Heights area of San Antonio, where the residents decided they wanted a neighborhood school. So they did what sensible people do — they petitioned somebody who knew how to run one. That somebody was the Sisters of the Divine Providence, a French religious order that was already operating four local schools and many more throughout Texas and the adjoining states.

These sisters were not amateurs. When the Laurel Heights folks came knocking, the sisters listened. In April of 1907, the sisters purchased land from a woman named Eleanor Stribling, and while the plans for a permanent building were still taking shape, Sisters St.

Stanislaus, Digna, Fidelis, and Norbert were already holding classes — in rented houses. Think about that. Four sisters, rented houses, chalk and determination, and a community counting on them.

They weren't waiting on anybody. Now, when the time came to build something worthy of all that effort, they turned to a prominent local architect named Frederick Gaenslen. And Gaenslen was the right man for the job.

He had studied at St. Mary's College and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in Texas he had earned many commissions from the Catholic Church and related orders. He knew the work, and the work knew him.

What he designed was a classical revival building, completed in 1909 — eight classrooms, buff brick, modeled after the St. Joseph Academy Building in Dallas. And it wasn't just functional.

An entry portico dominates the main elevation. Arched windows, pilasters, a brick parapet with projecting gables and decorative friezes flanking a raised central arched niche. And sitting right there in that niche, a statue of St.

Anthony himself, topped with a stone cross. The man built a schoolhouse that looked like it meant something, because it did. In those early years, local patrons and the St.

Anthony Seminary helped support the school, and as enrollment grew, so did the curriculum and the facilities. At various points in its history, St. Anthony wasn't just an elementary school — it ran a high school and a boarding school too.

It grew into whatever its community needed it to be. But then came the 1970s, and enrollment started to decline. And in 1985, the sisters announced that the school would be closing.

Now, you might think that's where the story ends. A lot of stories end right there — with an announcement, a locked door, a building that becomes something else entirely. Not this one.

Concerned parents and alumni organized themselves into a nonprofit group, purchased the property, and decided the school was going to keep going. Classes resumed on schedule. The sisters had opened the doors in 1907, and a community that loved what those doors represented made sure they stayed open.

A century after its founding, St. Anthony Catholic School was still operating. Some buildings hold a statue and a stone cross.

The best ones hold something harder to carve — the kind of conviction that shows up in rented houses and stays until the job is done.

What the marker says

In early 1907, residents of the Laurel Heights area petitioned the Sisters of the Divine Providence, a French religious order, to open a neighborhood school. The order already operated four local schools and many more throughout Texas and adjoining states. In April 1907, the sisters purchased land from Eleanor Stribling. Sisters St. Stanislaus, Digna, Fidelis and Norbert conducted school in rented houses while planning for a permanent schoolhouse. Prominent local architect Frederick Gaenslen designed the classical revival building completed in 1909. Gaenslen studied at St. Mary’s college and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in Texas he had many commissions from the Catholic Church and related orders. The eight-classroom buff brick building was modeled after the St. Joseph Academy Building in Dallas. An entry portico dominates the main elevation, which also includes arched windows and pilasters. In the brick parapet, projecting gables with decorative friezes flank a raised central arched niche, which holds a statue of St. Anthony and is topped with a stone cross. Local patrons and the St. Anthony seminary supported the school in its early years, and the curriculum and facilities expanded as enrollment grew. Though it was solely an elementary school for much of its history, St. Anthony also included a high school and boarding school in prior years. Enrollment declined in the 1970s, and the sisters announced the school’s intended closing in 1985. Concerned parents and alumni organized a nonprofit group to purchase the property and continue the school. Classes resumed on schedule, and the school continues to operate a century after its founding.