1847 - Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, O.P., a Catholic missionary from Italy and currently a candidate for sainthood, founds the Sinsinawa Dominican sisters.  Fr. Mazzuchelli also founds - and in some cases designs and builds -  village churches throughout the Wisconsin and part of the Mississippi river valleys.

1854 - Samuel Marshall of Marshall and Isley (now M&I ) Bank purchases the farmland on which Edgewood now sits.  (His carriage house still exists on campus.)  When the Marshalls move to Milwaukee,  they sell the property to Gov. Cadwallader Washburn (above) for his official residence.  He names it Edgewood Villa.

1871 - The Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation founds St. Regina Academy, a school for both boarders and non-boarders in Madison near the Capital at the corner of W. Washington and S. Henry.  (The building no longer exists.)  They offer basic subjects plus three languages and many vocal, instrumental and visual arts.

1881 - The school moves to Edgewood Villa, donated by Gov. Washburn. After losing a bid for re-election, Washburn moves to La Crosse, then Minneapolis, founding what has become General Mills.   Through the 1950s, in this building and others to come, the sisters take in and educate both paying students and orphaned girls in need.

1895 - The Villa burns in a tragic fire; three students die and one sister collapses trying to save them.   Less than a year later, the school reopens under a new name, Academy of the Sacred Heart.  Ads proclaim, "The position of the Academy, aside from the beauty...of the location, assures perfect healthfulness.  Its graceful, well-wooded slopes afford ample room for out-door exercise."

1924 - At the request of the growing number of Catholic parishes and parents in the Madison, boys are admitted for the first time.  College courses are also now offered.  In 1928, the original building of the current facility is completed and opened according to the design of architect Albert Kelsey, son-in-law of Gov. and Mrs. Washburn, under the name Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart.

1928 - An Athletic Club is organized under the leadership of Coach Earl J. Wilke, who remains  at Edgewood High School building sports programs for 50 years. Pictured above is the Class of 1927.

1943 - Composer Igor Stravinsky is present at a performance by Nadia Boulanger in the auditorium (recently renovated, above). Music teacher Sr. Edmund Blackwell had studied under Boulanger and Stravinsky in Paris.

1953 - The younger students move into a new facility, Edgewood Campus Grade School. In 1955, Edgewood College moves into its new buildings.  During the next 50 years, the high school adds classroom space, a larger cafeteria, a track, two gyms and a swimming pool.  The Science Center (1999, above) is the first building constructed in recent years to serve all three schools on campus.

1955 - Kathleen O’Connell, O.P., begins her 29-year tenure as principal.  After 1984, O’Connell continues to serve on the Board of Trustees until her death in 2000. (A child of her nephew, Dan O’Connell, currently attends.)  Before the tenure of Sr. Kathleen, as is common with Dominicans, the Sinsinawan Order had allowed sisters to serve as principal for no more than six years. 

1970 - “The Rock” makes its appearance on the EHS campus.  It is unearthed during the construction of an addition to make room for "Baby Boomers" in the '60s.  The Rock quickly becomes an outlet for student spirit, trumpeting events such as Homecoming, championships and graduation, or even (above) remembering a beloved teacher who has died.

2006 - Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart serves 650 students with a curriculum based in truth, justice, compassion, community and partnership, values especially prized by its Dominican founders/sponsors.  Nearly 12,000 students have graduated from the school. Many have gone on to be community leaders wherever they have settled.