Sacred Heart Academy was located at 918 Broad Street in Central Falls, RI. It was
a Catholic all-boy school, grades 6 thru 12, staffed by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Sadly, both the
building & the school no longer exist.
History
Sacred Heart Academy, formally known as "College du Sacre Coeur", admitted its first group of
students on September 7, 1909 in a building located on Fales Street. The Pastor, Rev. J.H. Beland, had concluded
all arrangements with the Venerable Brother Theodule, then Provicial.
Four brothers, among whom was Brother Wilfred, as Principal, had been apponited on the previous
August 15th. The Students more numerous than had been expected, required an additional teacher. The following
school term, the staff was increased by two more members.
The Fales Street house served but one year as the school. A former warehouse and then
later converted to a convent located at 918 Broad Street, now became the Brother's school. A boarding school authorized
by Rev. Bishop Harkins began with the trasnsfer.
Initially,the boarding students numbered sixteen and interns, forty. The number of boarders
increased repeatedly and a new wing was erected in 1916. The following year they reached one hundred in number &
maintained full capacity till the closing of the boarding school in1924. At that point, enrollment had reached 250 students.
In sports, the SHA "Beavers", the school basketball team became a state championship powerhouse. It
started out as a class "C" team because of the small school enrollment of about 350 during the '50s & 60's, to class "A".
The school took many state championships as well as many of it's players making the state basketball All-Stars every year.
The school survived until 1965, when city officials declare the school stucture no longer safe
to exist as a school. The Building was razed a few years later.
