Ursuline Academy

Bishop Claude Marie Dubuis, wishing to establish a Catholic school in the rapidly-growing area of North Texas, assigned six Galveston-based Ursuline nuns to the task in 1874. In January of that year Bishop Dubuis traveled with the sisters to Dallas and assisted them in opening the school. The first facility available to the new academy was a small four-room frame cottage located near Sacred Heart Church in downtown Dallas. The church's pastor, Father Joseph Martiniere, worked closely with the nuns in establishing the school, which officially opened on February 2, 1874, with seven students. As enrollment grew, plans were made to build a larger facility. In 1884 the school moved out of the downtown area to a new brick building located at Bryan, Haskell, and Live Oak streets. That building served the academy until 1949, when the school relocated to this site. Generations of Dallas girls have attended Ursuline Academy. One of the city's first kindergartens opened as part of the academy's program in 1918. Its grammar school section was discontinued in 1976, and the emphasis after that time was placed on high school education.

Ursuline Academy is a historical marker in Dallas, Dallas County, dedicated in 1989. It is one of 352 historical markers documented in Dallas County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 574 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.8790, -96.8234 near Dallas. The nearest cataloged historic site is Merrell Cemetery (historical marker), about 1.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include Cochran Chapel Methodist Church, Cochran Homeplace (W. P.), and Cochran Chapel Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5113006909. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.