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   The Sisters of St. Francis complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The complex is situated within the north central portion of the property. The portion of the complex that lies between Mill Street and Ellicott Creek includes the large Mother House (St. Mary of the Angels Convent), the focal point of the religious campus. Constructed in 1928, the Mother House is a Late Gothic Revival style building with two courtyards, exterior walls of buff-colored brick, stone trim entrances, windows, water table, and a slate-shingled roof. Ancillary buildings include a boiler house, three garages, and a gatehouse. While the Mother House is the focus of the complex, the campus as a whole with its various buildings set within the landscape is significant. Other contributing site features include the circular drive surrounding the Mother House and a set of radial walkways leading to various contemplative and work spaces, including the arbor, the gazebo, the stone grotto, and the stone steps leading to the orchard. While some components of the original 100-acre complex such as the chapel, the barns, and the cemetery have been compromised by new construction and are not included within the boundaries of the nomination (nor the park), the roughly 30-acre nominated area retains the principal structures and the feeling and character of the complex as it developed during the period of significance, 1928-1956.

 

St. Mary of the Angels Mother House

Front Entrance to Mother House of St. Mary of the Angels Convent.

View of the St. Joseph’s Shrine with rhododendrons in bloom, the picture was taken in the summer  of 1970.

In the aerial photo above, St. Joseph’s Shrine is the circle at end of the walkway in the lower left.

Arial view of the Sisters of St. Francis religious campus with the Mother House of St. Mary of the Angels Convent in the center.

View of the Mother House of St. Mary of the Angels Convent.

The two flower beds were both side of the walkway leading to the stone grotto.

Articles in the News about St. Mary of the Angels and Amherst State Park


Honored - Amherst Bee, 10/12/2011

Sisters of St. Francis celebrate 150 years in Western New York - Amherst Bee, 3/30/2011

SISTERS EXCEED TARGET OF $3.7 MILLION - Buffalo News, May 9, 2002

SISTER REJOICES IN LEGACY OF GREEN SPACE -  Buffalo News, June 22, 2001

SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS TO SELL YEARS OF MOTHERHOUSE HISTORY - Buffalo News, July 16, 1999

REMOVAL BEGINS OF STAINED GLASS AT MOTHERHOUSE - Buffalo News, July 5, 1999

OUT OF THE PAST - June 27, 1999

NUNS TO BREAK GROUND FOR NEW HOME IN AMHERST - Buffalo News, June 10, 1998

Taking advantage of angelic weather - Buffalo News, April 19, 1996

ST. FRANCIS CHAPEL - Buffalo News, September 2, 1990

Early History of St. Mary’s Mother Housestmaryearly.html

Magnolias in bloom, east wing,

April 1998

St. Mary’s Mother House Photo Gallerygallery/Pages/St._Mary_of_the_Angels.html

View showing “Michael Lawrence Bell” in bell tower.

View of the overgrown stone grotto.

View of the Arbor and Red Maple.

Fall view of the road leading to the entrance on Mill Street from the Mother House of St. Mary of the Angels Convent.

View of the Garden at bottom of steps. Originally a pond with fountain..

View of the Gazebo and Red Maple.

Sisters of St. Francis Celebration of
159 Years of Service in the Diocese of Buffalo150years.html