Though
most early elementary
schools were rudimentary, families who could afford to educate their
children beyond basic reading and writing sought schooling that would
continue the strict moral foundations of home.
Woodlawn Institute
O'Fallon valued education early
on and saw the connection between education and creating a good place
in which to live. Richard Pitman, Methodist minister
and a well-educated man, opened Fairview School in 1862 about four
miles west of O'Fallon. 
In 1878, with assistance from Darius Heald, the
primary, secondary and collegiate school was moved to O'Fallon and
opened as the Woodlawn Institute. The mission of the
school was to provide young women with boarding, supervision and
instruction in the proper Victorian manners. The
young ladies were also provided a classical education in literature,
mathematics, politics, music, Latin and Greek. For
all this education, training and supervision, parents paid a $10
registration fee and $75 per semester. The building
was large for its time and by the height of attendance, 100 students
boarded there. Expansion of other area schools and
the close proximity of another women's institution of learning,
Lindenwood College, brought declining enrollment and the school closed
in 1910.
The J. W. Williams family
bought the property and turned the 19-room school into their
home. A daughter of this family, Miss Marcia
Williams, worked tirelessly for many years to preserve the history of
the Institute and of the neighboring historic landmark, the remains of
Zumwalt's Fort and the Heald home. The Woodlawn
Institute was located at what is now the corner of Veteran's Memorial
Parkway and Old Woodlawn Drive.
Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, St.
Mary's Academy and College
The Sisters of the Most
Precious Blood settled in St. Louis and by 1873 they had established
schools in eight different cities, one of which was
O'Fallon. Two of the nuns, Sr. Camilla and Sr.
Blanche, taught in O'Fallon and resided in a little log house, along
with others who supervised the building of their permanent
home. By June of 1875, the first convent building in
O'Fallon was completed. 
Between 1885 and 1920, many additions and
expansions were made to the facility. In 1925 a new
chapel was begun, a building of extraordinary Gothic
grandeur. Later, a Novitiate (residences and
classrooms for the training of new sisters) was
added. In 1878, a Normal School for Teachers was
opened, and this was the future St. Mary's College of O'Fallon, which
continued to educate area residents until 1988. St.
Mary's College was well known for its exceptional nursing
school. In 1964, St. Mary's Academy began as a small
private Catholic high school for girls and it continued there until
1990.
After 120 years in O'Fallon,
the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood had built and beautifully
maintained their campus. They had provided many jobs
for their O'Fallon neighbors. They had been a
partner with the city and its residents on spiritual, educational, and
economic levels throughout the years. When some of
the convent, college and academy buildings were no longer needed, the
Sisters looked for a way to downsize and to preserve the character and
beauty of the campus. By this time, the O'Fallon
City Hall, at the corner of Main and East Elm Streets, was too small to
accommodate the city's growing staff and citizen's
needs. The City of O'Fallon bought the underused
buildings on the southernmost edge of the convent properties and, after
extensive renovations, those buildings became the new O'Fallon City
Hall in 1999. Today, the Sisters of the Most
Precious Blood Convent and City Hall, together in the heart of the
original downtown area, are a perfect blend of cooperation and
tradition.
The Assumption School
Assumption School had its
beginning in the little log house that was erected at the same time the
first church was built. Mr. Joseph Rustige was hired
as the first teacher for $25 per month. Then in
September of 1873, the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood took charge
of the school.
In 1876
the log school was replaced with a brick building to accommodate the
increased elementary enrollment. This three-story
brick building served the Parish until it was torn down in the early
1960's. Today the eight grades at Assumption School
are housed in the second high school building that was built in 1955,
plus another building erected in 1959.
In 1923 Assumption High School
opened its doors. From its beginning the school was
under the tutelage of the Sisters of the Most Precious
Blood. The first Assumption High School building
stood at the corner of Main and Third Street until 1965 when it was
moved several blocks away to serve as the Knights of Columbus
Hall. Assumption High School was transitioned into
St. Dominic Archdiocesan Regional High School in 1963 and admits
students from eleven feeder parishes in the area.