Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur East West Archives

Swan Farm, c. 1920

The Lake, c. 1910

In 1899, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur bought the Swan Farm,  located on Plantation in Worcester. The Farm, as the sisters called it for many years, had been rented out for over thirty years to various tenants. The property included 145 acres of farmland. When the sisters arrived on April 9, 1900 to begin their work, they found the house filled with trash and in great disrepair. During those first months, the sisters wrote constantly about their work, the conditions and the beginnings of what was to become a rest home for aging and ill sisters. To help them with the work, the sisters also hire 4 farmhands to manage the fields and animals.

Those first annals not only describe the sisters’ challenges, but also amusing stories, such as sheep that like to sleep in beds and the rescue of their missing dog. The original annals are provided here along with a transcription because the penmanship of the annalist is often difficult to decipher. Enjoy these tales from more than a century ago.

Plantation Street Convent Annals 1900-1901

Transcription Plantation Street Convent Annals 1900-1901