History
Be part of the history of Los Angeles.
The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary founded Ramona Convent Secondary School in 1889 as a boarding and day school in what is now Alhambra, a suburb of Los Angeles, where James de Barth Shorb had given them 15 acres of land. It was at the urging of his daughter, Edith, who did not like being sent far away to Oakland for her schooling, and his realization of the growing need of Catholic education for his own family and the neighboring rancheros, that Mr. Shorb donated the land and invited the Sisters to build a school.
READ MORE OF RAMONA'S HISTORY |
- Four-story Red Building
- A Beautiful Christian Home
- Continuously Accredited
- Whittier Narrows Earthquake
- A New Face of Ramona
- 7,300 Young Women
- Original Location
- Rich Heritage
Four-story Red Building
Out of gratitude to their benefactors, the Sisters called the convent
“Ramona” in memory of Ramona Wilson, the maternal grandmother of Ramona
Shorb. The first building to be erected was a four-story red brick building on
the knoll that dominated the Convent grounds – about where the east
wing of the administration building including the chapel, now stands.
A Beautiful Christian Home
Continuously Accredited
Whittier Narrows Earthquake
On October 1, 1987 the Whittier Narrows earthquake caused irreparable damage to the grand old building. Police and firemen arrived minutes after the quake and put up barriers around the main building. The building inspectors arrived in the early afternoon and determined that the main four-story building would have to be demolished. Demolition began on December 11, 1987.
A New Face of Ramona
7,300 Young Women
Original Location
Rich Heritage
In honor of Ramona’s 125 Anniversary in 2015, a statue of the foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Names, Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, was crafted by Sister Paula Mary Turnbull, SNJM.
It was placed in the center of the campus where it serves as a reminder to the Ramona community of the rich heritage that is ours and of our responsibility to daily embody the charism and values of the Sisters of the Holy Names.