ST. CATHERINE'S ACADEMY SITE (SOLANO SQUARE)

In 1854, Mother Mary Goemaere, a French-born Dominican nun, arrived in Benicia by chartered schooner from Monterey, establishing St. Catherine's Academy at this site. Begun initially as a girls' boarding school, the Academy became a co-educational boarding and grammar school in 1889. St. Catherine's served educational needs of this area for over 100 years. It was razed in 1965 to make way for a shopping center now known as the Solano Square.