Rich in history, the site of the Marymount Academy was settled in the 1850s by the James Longmire and Benjamin Franklin Wright parties after traveling west on the northern-most branch of the Oregon Trail. In 1919, 100 acres of the ranch was sold to the Sisters of St. Dominic, who then opened a school for boys in 1923 that would provide a Catholic education. Later, the school’s focus became not only education but also to prepare young men for service in the military. Many of the teachers at the school were active-duty officers from nearby Camp Lewis, now Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Marymount served as an English-as-a-second language academy in the 1970s and later became a retirement community for nuns. A docent will lead you through the boy’s dormitories, classrooms, and the convent where the nuns resided. You will also see the 1920’s era Marymount Chapel, complete with inch-thick stain-glass panels and a hand-painted ceiling fresco.
