Old St. Anastasia Catholic School, Catholic school building in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Old St. Anastasia Catholic School is a rectangular educational building in Fort Pierce, Florida, marked by a raised entrance portico and exposed wooden brackets. Concrete steps lead up to the main entry, with the structure showcasing early 1900s school architecture.
Built in 1914 at 910 Orange Avenue, the school was financed by James P. McNichol, a Pennsylvania senator who wintered in Fort Pierce for the fishing. He also paid for a wooden church, rectory and convent for the pastor who rode into town once a month. The building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on August 10, 2000.
The school served as a refuge for public education when the town's main schoolhouse burned in 1919, demonstrating how the Catholic community opened its doors to help local families. Children from different backgrounds studied together in these classrooms during a time of need.
The building sits on Orange Avenue in downtown Fort Pierce and is easily walkable to from the city center and nearby streets. After storm damage in the early 2000s, structural work restored the building to a stable condition for viewing.
Three Dominican nuns arrived to teach at the school during the 1920s, drawing new students even as the nation struggled through the Great Depression. Their presence became a turning point that strengthened the institution despite economic hardship.
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