Shattuck-St. Mary's history

Bishop Whipple established his home in Faribault and, in 1860, took over the reins of the school, changing Breck’s ambitious plan for “Bishop Seabury University” into something more realistic—”an honest school.”

In 1864, when Seabury Hall was completed, the school moved to its present site on the bluffs above the Straight River.

In 1865, Tommy Crump, an English divinity student recently returned from the Civil War, started training the boys in military foot drill, with the boys using sticks as stand-ins for rifles.

By 1866, more room was needed and, through the largess of Doctor George Cheyne Shattuck of Boston, Shattuck Hall was built specifically for the boys.

Also in 1872, the Chapel of the Good Shepherd was built through the generosity of Augusta Shumway of Chicago.

By 1883, St Mary's had also outgrown its downtown facilities, and a grand, ornate building, often called "the Castle on the Rhine", was built on the bluffs, less than half a mile south of Shattuck.

In 1901, Dobbin founded St James School for younger boys about half a mile north of Shattuck.

That building burned in 1924, and the limestone structure that stands today was built less than a year later.

Since 1925, through today the SSM hockey program has grown into the premier program in the United States.

In 1932, Seabury Theological Seminary merged with Western Theological Seminary and moved to Evanston, Illinois.

In 1972, the three schools, Shattuck, St Mary's and St James, were joined into what is known today as Shattuck-St Mary's.

In 1974, the military program was discontinued and the St James campus was sold.

Throughout the late 1980's, the SSM hockey program saw hard times as school enrollment dropped and players were harder to come by.

In 1988, the residential and academic programs were reconfigured so that the Middle School students (grades 6-8) were at the St Mary’s campus and the Upper School students (grades 9-12) were at the Shattuck Campus.

For a few years, SSM partnered in a co-op program with Faribault High School in order to get a full team on the ice and in 1989 had only two players on the roster.

By 1993, SSM had outgrown the local High School League and expanded its season to include a full schedule of USA Hockey games and tournaments.

In 1996, the School fielded its first girls hockey team, and the top boys midget team skated to its very first National Championship Tournament.

2003 marked the beginning of a period of growth and development for the School.

In 2005, adjacent to the "Old Rink" a new modern amenity rink was built namely called "The New Rink" boasting an impressive lobby area with a large brick fireplace and coffee shop for rink-goers to grab a sip of java while waiting for the Sabres game play to begin.

In mid-2009 the Saint James campus was reacquired.

In September 2012 the school opened Fayfield Hall, a new science, technology, engineering, and math building and home to the BioScience and Engineering Centers of Excellence.