San Francisco’s Magdalen Asylum, later the St. Catherine’s Home, operated from 1856 to 1932. It was located on Potrero Avenue, near 21st Street, at the north end of today’s SF General Hospital campus.
Irish nuns from the Sisters of Mercy order ran San Francisco’s Magdalen Asylum, later the St. Catherine’s Home, between 1856 and 1932. For much of that time, it partially operated as a prison for “wayward” teen girls, whose offenses were often no more than being difficult at home, wanting to marry the “wrong” person, or being homeless or orphaned.
Many times, when these teens were sentenced to “The Mag,” local newspapers wrote brief articles about them, often with leering descriptions of the girls’ looks and/or shame-laden descriptions like “naughty,” “bad girl” or “troublesome.” It was as if, by dragging these girls through the mud, the newspapers were helping.
Read my deep exploration of this Magdalen Asylum at this link. Read on below to see newspaper reports and find out more about who the girls were.