The following article appeared in the Centennial Newsletter on April 14th, 2025.
Mohun Musings- Centennial Newsletter
Did you know that Mohun Hall was originally the home of Charles Bliss? Charles Franklin Bliss, his wife Eliza Holmes Bliss, and two daughters, Elinor and Margaret, moved into their new home at 765 Prospect Street upon its completion in 1919. Shortly after, Bliss installed an electric pipe organ below the foyer stairway. Although the pipes resided in the basement, the music could be heard throughout the home when played. Countless guests were entertained by Bliss and his organ, especially during the many Yale reunions hosted there. In a 1955 Silver Horn interview, Mrs. Arthur B. Dayton (Elinor Bliss) fondly recalled her father’s organ on her wedding day, saying “strains of the “Wedding March” billow[ed] up about [her] from the magnificent organ below the stairs” as she descended the grand staircase in her wedding gown to meet her family before heading to the church.
In 1948, after the death of both Charles and Eliza Bliss, the daughters agreed to sell the property to Albertus Magnus College. The Dominican Sisters renamed their new property at 765 Prospect Street Mohun Hall in honor of Mother Stephanie Mohun, OP.
In May of 1948, Mother Mohun wrote to the Sisters of Albertus with her reaction to the news:
“My dear Sisters,
If you had tried you could not have given me a greater surprise than your very kind telegram brought me this morning! […] I hardly know what to say! I did not expect to have my name perpetuated on anything but a little white cross in the cemetery, yet I deeply appreciate the honor bestowed on me by the College which is so dear to my heart but I value as sacred the loving thought which prompted the honor. Still I have to confess that had I known your thought I would have used “all the authority I used to have” in order to prevent its accomplishment!”
Fortunately, Mother Mohun did not prevent the naming of Mohun Hall, and today the white house across Prospect Street is the headquarters for the Office of Admissions, Alumni Office, the Office of Advancement, and Marketing and Communications.
Looking for more? Check out: A Treasured Legacy: Mother M. Stephanie Mohun, OP, Her Life And Letters, by Sr. M. Mercia Rice, OP, page viii.
Stay tuned for more words of wisdom from Mother Stephanie!
Contributed by:
Catie White, MLIS
Community Services Librarian and College Archivist