Abbey Inn and Spa and the Community of Saint Mary’s, Peekskill, NY
Perched high above the Hudson River in Peekskill, NY is the former Community of St. Mary in Peekskill. According to Peekskill’s Historic Community of St Mary. New York Almanac, January 26 2016:
The Community of St Mary (CSM) and the remarkable religious buildings they had constructed at Peekskill, NY from 1872 to 1963 was founded by Sister Harriet Starr Cannon, (1823-1896) its Mother Superior. Based on a Benedictine model, the CSM adhered to a simple monastic life centered on prayer, reflection, and service. The community at Peekskill operated a high school for girls and the manufacture and sale of “Alter Bread” (aka communion wafers) was one of the CSM’s primary means of self-sustainment.
The story of their Peekskill buildings begins in 1872 when they acquired 30 acres of land in the then Village of Peekskill some 40 miles north of New York City on a hilltop they named Mount St. Gabriel overlooking to the Hudson River. It was here that they built their convent, chapel, a school for girls, several other structures and a burial ground for their departed members and other persons associated with their order. The initial convent was a repurposed clapboard farmhouse found on the property when they purchased it.
The first convent was built in 1876. It was a three-story wooden building conceived by architect Henry Martyn Congdon (1834–1922) who designed numerous Episcopal churches during his career, mainly in the Gothic Revival style.
In 1909, construction of a new home for a high school for girls was begun. The main St. Mary’s School building is considered a noteworthy example of the Gothic Revival style, with its large gothic quadrangle, designed by architect Ralph Adams Cram. Cram was considered to be among the principal 20th century American proponents of Gothic Revival architecture, particularly Collegiate Gothic. In 1920 a wing was added to the school. It extended outside the quadrangle and contained a gymnasium and space for a swimming pool. This addition was designed by another well-known architect of the time, the skyscraper pioneer, Cass Gilbert.
The Abbey Inn and Spa
The building projects begun in the late 19th century were completed in 1963 with the addition of a swimming pool. In the early 1980s the school and convent properties were sold. The Ginsburg Development Company (GDC) ultimately bought the convent and chapel for a proposed project called “The Abbey at Fort Hill”. The former St. Mary’s Convent property has been transformed into a resort-style tourist destination with a spa, inn, restaurant and apartment complex. The GDC plan includes provisions for the preservation and restoration the existing historically and architecturally significant chapel and convent that had been abandoned.
The Abbey Inn and Spa website describes its history as follows:
With its views over the Hudson River Highlands, Fort Hill was a key lookout post for George Washington and his army during the Revolutionary War; in 1902, it became home to a convent and chapel, established by the Episcopal Sisters of Saint Mary. The nuns moved elsewhere in the Hudson Valley in 2003, and developer Martin Ginsburg lovingly restored the abbey and its chapel into The Abbey Inn & Spa – a luxury hotel with 42 rooms and suites, a farm-to-table restaurant, a luxurious spa, and over 65 acres to explore. The chapel offers a unique venue for important occasions, and a peaceful English garden provides space for quiet contemplation. Lovingly restored and meticulously designed, our hotel pays homage to its historic heritage while offering contemporary amenities and world-class service to each and every guest. All of us at The Abbey Inn and Spa are thrilled to be part of this exciting transformation, and we’re eager to share it with you.
Constructed in Peekskill, NY from 1872 – 1963, The Abbey Inn is the oldest Episcopal Religious Community in the United States still in existenceThe first convent was built in 1876. It was three story wooden building conceived by architect Henry Martyn Congdon (1834 – 1922) who designed numerous Episcopal churches during his career, mainly in the Gothic Revival Style
Congdon returned in 1896 to build the external main chapel (Higlands Ballroom), completed in 1902, with a Cornerstone (cornerstone room) that reads “Magnificat anima mea dominum” or “My soul magnifies the lord”In 1902 a bell weighing 1,000 lbs and manufactured by the Meneely Bell Company of West Troy, NY was installed in the belfry which is still in place todayThe Chapel’s altar was made of various kinds of marble, and seven statutes of saint surrounding it were put in place in 1893Joseph Sibbel, a noted ecclesiastical sculptor (1850 – 1907) created the central statue representing the Virgin Mary and the Holy Child, St. Michael “Angel of Passion,” and St. Gabriel “The Angel of Passion and Praise” and donated a Roosevelt Organ that was installed in 1894In 1902, St. Mary’s school was beginning to be built made of granite found at the Mount Gabriel site.In 1908 a granite three-story house also designed by Congdon was built for the convent’s resident chaplains (the first of these occupants was Reverend Father Maurice Cowl. (Now private home of local doctor)Site sits adjacent to the City’s Fort Hill Park which includes Revolutionary War era artifacts as Peekskill was a scene of historic 3-day Revolutionary War battle
It’s a nice place and the view is spectacular. I’ll certainly go again.
The Sisters of Saint Mary’s Cemetery
Adjacent to “The Abbey Inn and Spa” mentioned mentioned above stands St. Mary’s Convent Cemetery.
An article titled: “Peekskill’s Historic Community of St Mary” on the New York Almanac mentions the cemetery:
In addition to the historic convent and chapel structures, the site includes a cemetery where the remains of former sisters and workers at the former school are interred. The cemetery is not maintained, and its gravestone markers are uprooted and stacked in a corner of the cemetery. Only the grave monument of CSM founders, Sister Harriet Starr Cannon and a few dozen unmarked cement crosses remain. Another developer bought the school and converted it into an apartment building.
While it may have been true in 2016 that the cemetery was in a state of disrepair, it certainly isn’t now. As you’ll see from the pictures it’s now in excellent condition. In fact, it’s one of the nicest small cemeteries I’ve come across in my area.
According to Wikipedia:
The Community of St. Mary (CSM) is an Anglican religious order of nuns with independent houses located in Greenwich, New York, Sewanee, Tennessee, Mukwonago, Wisconsin, and also in Malawi and the Philippines.The oldest indigenous Anglican (Epicopalian) order in the United States, it was founded in New York City in 1865 by Harriet Starr Cannon and a small group of fellow nuns. It was formally constituted by Bishop Horatio Potter of New York as the Sisters of St. Mary. The Episcopal Church was initially slow to recognize the order, and they only found wide support after four of the sisters died nursing victims of a yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, Tennessee in 1878. These four sisters are now commemorated by the Episcopal Church on September 9 as the Martyrs of Memphis or as Constance and her Companions. The community now consists of three independent provinces: Eastern, Western, and Southern. In April of 2021, the Eastern province left the Episcopal Church (TEC) and joined the Anglican Church of North America's Diocese of the Living Word.
Their rule of life is very similar to the Benedictine rule, and they live a mixed life of prayer and service. The sisters in the Eastern Province pray the Divine Office five times each day, and the community's Monastic Diurnal Revised is a popular prayer book for many outside of the community as well. From their foundation in 1865 the first sisters took charge of the "House of Mercy" in New York. Then and now the sisters have felt called to the care of "the lost, forgotten, and underprivileged" after the example of many Christian saints, including St Vincent de Paul.
Another developer bought the school and converted it into an apartment building.
The site sits adjacent to the City’s Fort Hill Park which includes Revolutionary War era artifacts. It is believed also that Revolutionary War era barracks were located in the area of the current cemetery.
In 2003 the Sisters of St. Mary Community moved to their new home in Greenwich.