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| Lemont Fournier Institute |
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| Photo submitted by Barb of the Lemont Historical Society |
| Fournier Institute Entrance |
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| Submitted by Celeste Kadisak |
The
History of Lemont Fournier Institute of Technology
Lemont (population 13,098) is located in far northeastern Illinois in the southwest corner
of Cook County. The city is located on Lemont Road between Interstate Highway 55 and Illinois Route 171. The
Des Plaines River and the Sanitary Drainage and Ship Canal both flow to the northwest of town. The Amtrak/ Atchison,
Topeka, & Sante Fe Railroad has tracks that travel through Lemont as well. Lemont is located about 25 miles
southwest of downtown Chicago.
The area in which Lemont is now located was first settled in the 1830s. Attempts to build a town in
the area occurred in 1836 (Keepataw) and 1839 (Athens). However, it was the building of the Illinois & Michigan Canal
in 1848 that led to the town of Lemont being created. Lemont was officially incorporated as a town in 1876.
Early industrial strengths of Lemont included the development of rock quarries. This brought
in several immigrant workers to help populate the area and work the quarries. Lemont's growth was steady, though not remarkable
for its first 100 years. The town's population in 1960 was 3,400 and this grew to 7,350 by 1990. However in 2000,
that number had nearly doubled to 13,100.
"The Fournier Institute of Technology was built in 1929 by the Archdiocese of Chicago as a seminary and
retirement house for priests. Arthur J. Schmitt, a successful engineer who founded Amphenol Corporation purchased the property
in early 1941 to establish a school for young men as pre-engineering students and a full program for engineering.
Fournier graduated its last high school class in 1951 (last college class in 1955) and ceased operations in June
of that year. Electrical engineering was the primary field included in the curriculum and ethical precepts were included.
The Institute was Lemont’s only College offering a five-year secular course of study and graduate diplomas. But from
the beginning, it was designed to give its students a good background in Catholic precepts with many of the instructors being
priests. Some local residents were teachers at Fournier, such as Mrs. William Krause and Frank E. Pick, head of the Department
of Physics."
| Fourneir Institute Classroom |
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| Snet to us by Celeste Kadisak |
| Fournier Institute Classroom |
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| Courtesy of Celeste Kadisak |
Additional information from the 1953 dissertation written about the history of Catholic secondary
education by Sr. Mary Innocenta Montay also tells us that Fournier Institute was built at a cost of over $250,000 in a wooded
estate area east of Lemont, and was named for the Very Rev. Cyril Fournier, who served as the first Provincal of the Viatorian
order in the United States. When the school opened on September 8, 1930, the school's mission was to exclusively prepare candidates
for the novitiate, emphasizing religion, Latin, mathematics, and English. The enrollment was small and closed in 1933 during
the heart of the Great Depression.
However, the school was re-opened in 1943 when Schmitt created his own foundation with a board
of trustees to oversee the school's operation. It was a six-year school with the junior and senior years of high school, along
with a four-year college course to educate and train future industrial leaders.
Fournier had dormitories on campus with everything paid for by the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation.
Viatorian priests and brothers were still involved as members of the faculty.
| Fournier Institute Outdoor Assembly |
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| Sent to us by Celeste Kadisak |
| Fournier Institute Activities Room |
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| Submitted by Celeste Kadisak |
The high school department was discontinued in June of 1951, due an engineering mortality rate
that was too high for incoming students that had to make a career choice after their sophomore years in high school prior
to transferring to Fournier. The school was later purchased by the Vincentian Order and reopened as St. Vincent dePaul
Seminary in 1955, only to close in 1992. The school's main buidling was torn down in 1996 in an effort to develop a subdivision
on the site.
Fournier Institute of Technology Quick Facts
Year first opened: 1930
Year firstclosed: 1933
Reopened: 1943
Closed high school:
1951
Closed college: 1955
Fournier team nickname:
unavailable
Fournier team colors:
unavailable
Fournier fight song:
unavailable
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Athletics
We know that the boys of Lemont Fournier Institute of Technology competed with other schools in the area in the sport
of basketball. It is probable that baseball and track were offered as well. School team nickname, uniform colors,
fight song, team records, and coach's names are all items we would like to share on this page.
Boys Basketball
We know that the team of 1948-49 had a real nice season. This is proven by the fact that Fournier won a District
title that year. The team record and coach's name of this and other Fournier teams are needed.
1948-49 District Champions
MEMORIES
**From Celeste Kadisak:
"My father-in-law, Richard Kadisak, attended Fournier Institute in Lemont from 1943-1944. He graduated
elementary school in 1940, so I assume his attendance at Fournier was for junior and senior years of high school. After
graduation, he then entered the army, and fought in the Philippines and was with the occupying forces in Japan."
| Photo of Fournier Student Richard Kadisak - 1940s |
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| Courtesy of Cleste Kadisak |
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