The SSND Motherhouse Chronicle of 1917 tells the story of the how the School Sisters of Notre Dame’s Villa Maria in Notch Cliff, Maryland came to be:
The first definite steps toward the realization of our desire for some years to find a suitable location in the country for a rest house had been taken. Evidently, Divine Providence diverted us to Notch Cliff, a place about 13 miles from Baltimore located on the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad. Familiar to most people as the Ma and Pa railroad, which connected Baltimore with York and Hanover, Pennsylvania, the rail line took 77 miles to connect places only 45 miles apart! Many small stations were along the rails, including Notch Cliff.
Of all the places inspected during the last six years, Notch Cliff seemed to be the best offered – 274 1/2 acres. In June of 1908, we made the purchase of this Villa, of course with the permission of Milwaukee. By July, we had the use of the farm. Our cows from 4701 N. Charles Street (College of Notre Dame of Maryland) were transported there, and fruit and vegetables were brought in, as were the plans for the house by the architect, Thomas C. Kennedy. These were sent to Milwaukee in September for inspection, and, in November, we were in possession of improved and approved plans. After a few weeks, the building contract was signed with Mr. Riehl from Baltimore.
According to this contract, the wings should be finished by June 1; the main building by July 15. May the protecting hand of the Lord rest on this project, which has been a necessity, felt for so many years in the Eastern Province.
The cemetery at Villa Maria, Notch Cliff, was consecrated on April 30, 1910. On the same day, our dear Sister Mary Ottilia Donohue died - the first victim or sacrifice for the cemetery. Sister had believed that after a short rest she could return to work, so we granted her wish to bring her to Notch Cliff. After five days she suffered a stroke. Having received the Last Sacraments, she slept away sweetly and gently, entering her well-earned rest,
On March 12, 1912, with the sanction of our Reverend Mother Commissary, we bought two pieces of land bordering our grounds; one a triangle of six acres for $540, and the other a farm of 240 acres, the fee payable in installments, including interest within six months and the remainder by the end of the year. Not considering the necessity of buying these pieces of land, they are, nevertheless, a great advantage for us. The land was very fertile, well suited for raising grain, potatoes, and fodder.
Our Pioneers Come Home
About thirty years after the opening – by the Redemptorist Fathers – of the cemetery of the Holy Redeemer on Belair Road in north Baltimore, the remains in St. Alphonsus Cemetery located on Eager Street were gradually transferred to the above-established cemetery.
Gradually the old cemetery became a ruin. Several times our superiors had the intention of removing the 53 departed sisters and three candidates who died between 1850 and 1888 to our Villa Maria cemetery. But no one wanted to disturb our dear sisters in their final resting place. Now, since the Redemptorist Fathers wanted to sell the desolate burial place, we had to remove the remains of our sisters.
The first grave was opened on October 19, 1917. Our dear Mother Magdalena Steiner had been buried there in 1867. The lovely habit was still in good condition; even the pleats were not disturbed. The cincture showed no sign of decay. This filled our hearts with reverential emotion. May it not be a considered a symbol of angelic virtue that these were still intact after being in the grave for 50 years? The crucifix somewhat decayed in some places. This in the care of Reverend Mother Agnes and kept as a precious relic on the cradle of our Order in America.
O
n All Saints Day the precious remains were removed to Notch Cliff.
Reverend Mother Provincial and all the Sisters followed the Revered Chaplain, Peter B. Tarro, D.D. to the cemetery, where the remains of our Mother of blessed memory was buried with the usual ceremonies, next to our dear Mother Sebastian.
Within two weeks, the remains of the other 56 bodies were transferred and are resting now in the shadow of our Salus Infirmoriusm Chapel, awaiting the morn of the Eternal Resurrection. May they rest in peace.
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Notch Cliff flourished long after this Chronicle account was given. Its farm furnished vegetables and dairy products not only for the needs of the sanatorium but also for the community of the Baltimore Motherhouse and Notre Dame of Maryland. Over 20 years the sisters bought a total of seven parcels of land, making it all together nearly 500 acres. And until 1965, when the cattle were sold, the milk cans arrived regularly at the Institute of Notre Dame, at the College of Notre Dame, and at the Motherhouse at Charles Street and Bellona Avenue. The fresh vegetables and fruit kept coming for several more years.
According to a report submitted by Sister M. Benedicta Viebeck, SSND, with the generous help of Sister Carola Himmelheber, SSND, and Sister Catharine Sherman, SSND, of the Baltimore Province Archives; Sister Marie Kevin Mueller, SSND, and Sister Dorothy Daiger, SSND, of the Baltimore Heritage Committee; and Sister Maura Eichner, SSND, Professor at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland (now Notre Dame of Maryland University), the Angelus Bell rang out three times a day, morning, noon, and evening. The sound came from a 500-pound bell in the tower of the main building. The bell had been there as long as the chapel; on Christmas Eve in 1909 it pealed the first time, we are told. The bell was called “Joseph” after the head of the humble household in Nazareth. Three times a day it reminded the sisters of the words of Mary to the angel Gabriel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”
Villa Maria and the surrounding grounds were sold in the 1980s as the number of Sisters living there dwindled and it became too expensive to maintain. Yet, the congregation retained ownership of the cemetery. Even today, the current owners allow the St. Joseph Bell to faithfully toll and escort sisters for burial at Notch Cliff.
There are two circles in the cemetery, the Crucifixion Circle and the Blessed Mother Circle. Behind the Crucifixion Circle (in the older section of the cemetery) is a large monument engraved with the names of sisters who died in the 19th century and whose remains were moved to Villa Maria from other cemeteries. The Blessed Mother Circle is in the middle of the newer section of the cemetery.
