In 1821 Father Gabriel Richard, a missionary in Detroit visited Mother Rose Philippine Duchesne in Florissant, Missouri. Father Richard asked Mother Duchesne to establish a group in Detroit. This initial request was denied. Father Richard's wish was not realized until 1848 when Madame Monique Beaubien wrote to Mother Hardy, Superior Provincial of the Society in New York, offering the Society of the Sacred Heart a piece of Beaubien property on Jefferson Avenue for an academy school, on the condition that orphans would also be educated at the institution. On the southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and St. Antoine Street a building was erected in 1861 at a cost exceeding $30,000. The building was built to accommodate 150 students and for 50 years this was the school.