SJU History

• Administrators (Presidents, Deans, etc.)
• Awards 
• Buildings
• Commencements
• Publications: You can search for articles on the history of Saint John's in Abbey and University publications and the Archives' news clippings.  Includes Student Newspapers
• Students 1857-1915: a list of the earliest students at St. John's
• Timeline
• Vignettes - short "history lessons" on assorted topics
• Documents on the History of CSB/SJU Cooperation

Below are articles, documents, and pages on various aspects of the history of Saint John's University.

A Visual History of Saint Benedict's and Saint John's [PowerPoint]
A pictorial history of the two communities, emphasizing the first one hundred years.  Compiled by Br. Alan Reed, OSB, using the resources of the Archives of St. Benedict's Monastery and those of St. John's Abbey and University.

Music at St. John's from 1867 to 1900.  A short history of the music department between 1867 and 1900, as told by Fr. John B. Katzner, who was the director of music for a number of years,  in 1917.

Books about St. John's These and other books about Saint John’s are available in the SJU Archives.  Some have been digitized and are linked below.

Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota:
A Sketch of Its History, 1857-1907
by Alexius Hoffmann, O.S.B. (Collegeville: Record Press, 1907)
The entire book is online.

Worship and work: Saint John's Abbey and University 1856-1992
by Colman Barry, O.S.B. 603 pages.
The entire work is online.

Abbey and University Church of Saint John the Baptist, 5th ed.
by Ronald Roloff, O.S.B.  36 pages. (North Central Pub. Co., St. Paul, Minn., 1980)
The entire booklet is online. 

Scoreboard: A History of Athletics at Saint John's University
written and compiled by Dunstan Tucker, O.S.B. and Martin Schirber, O.S.B.
(Copyright 1979 by the Order of St. Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All Rights Reserved.)
The entire work is online. Also available in PDF.

Monte Cassino, Metten, and Minnesota - on the European roots of St. John's
by August C. Krey.  Reprinted from Minnesota History vol. 8 no. 3, September 1927.  15 pages. 
The entire work is online.

Natural History of Collegeville, Minnesota
by Alexius Hoffmann, O.S.B. (originally written in 1926, finished in 1934).  38 pages. 
The entire work is online. 
Also online: Ornithogical Notes by Father Lambert Thelen, O.S.B. from 1894-98.  48 p.

Thesis paper A Management Plan for the Conifer Plantations at St. John's Collegeville, Minnesota
by Paul Schwietz, O.S.B.
The entire paper is online.

History paper A Stone House Amongst the Maples:  Forestry, Stability and Benedictinism at St. John's, 1866-1960,
by Franz Young, SJU class of 2002
The entire work is online, with the permission of the author.

The tables of contents of two literary magazines, Sketchbook (1949-1966) and Lower Stumpf Lake Review (1967-1984), are available via Vivarium.  The full text is NOT online.

Stones and Hills / Steine und Huegel
Reflections: St. John the Baptist Parish, 1875-1975
A history of the Collegeville Parish, published for its centennial in 1975.
Copyright St. John the Baptist Parish, Collegeville, 1975.
The entire book is online, in a series of pdfs. Includes black and white illustrations.

One Co-Operative Venture: The CSB-SJU Academic Exchange Program 
This 1967 article documents the early stages of the cooperation between CSB and SJU.

College Life: A Manual for Students
by Alexius Hoffmann, O.S.B. (Collegeville, 1898). 161 pages.
Rules of behavior for students at St. John's.
The entire book is online.