Inspired by Mother Seton -- and following correspondence with her -- the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth were founded south of Bardstown, KY, at St Thomas church:
https://www.saintthomasbardstown.org/about
Along with Loretto and the Springfield Dominicans, the SCNs comprise part of the Kentucky Holy Land:
http://www.kyholyland.org/
Why so many motherhouses so close together?
Travel.
Louisville is 40 miles from Bardstown. Lebanon and Springfield are 25 and 17 miles from Bardstown, respectively. The second post following this one treats of the Dominicans. Guess which one was founded first? Springfield, KY.
Bishop Flaget (Fla-schay) was the first bishop of the Diocese of Bardstown.
https://www.stjosephbasilica.org/history
These congregations were founded primarily for educating the pioneer children. Due to being in the wilderness, travel was difficult.
The SCN Congregational history:
https://scnfamily.org/about/
I was received into the Church at St Joseph Proto-Cathedral at age 16. A few months previous, I had transferred to Bethlehem High. At the risk of sounding crass, my feet can attest to the length of the Nazareth Motherhouse. Not only did we have Junior Retreat there (our group got lost trying to find the room), but our rain site for Senior graduation was the Gardner Auditorium.
The Nazareth Villages website shows this unique venue which protrudes at the end of the building, diametrically opposed to the chapel. The historic Gardner balcony was suspended from the ceiling. A very rare specimen, indeed. Most of the motherhouse, however, was eventually converted to senior citizen housing.
Gardner Auditorium -- or where it used to be -- is the first building seen in the drone footage here:
https://nazarethvillages.org/
Should one desire to have a photographed event at the beautiful Nazareth Motherhouse campus, please do mind one's manners:
https://scnfamily.org/rules-and-policies/
SCN ministries mentioned in Dehey:
My alma mater, Bethlehem High School in Bardstown, KY:
https://www.bethlehemhigh.org/
St Mary's Ryken High School, Leonardtown, MD:
https://www.smrhs.org/about/history
U of L Health - Mary and Elizabeth Hospital:
https://www.uoflhealthnetwork.org/mary-elizabeth-hospital?utm_campaign=location+lbl&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google
Former St Thomas- St Vincent Orphanage, now a subdivision:
https://www.owlcreekcommunity.com/our-history/
Presentation Academy, Louisville, KY:
https://www.presentationacademy.org/about-us.html
Spalding University, Louisville, KY:
https://spalding.edu/about-us/
Wow. Those last two links really take me back to my practical nursing school days. My school had an agreement with Spalding College, and I roomed in their dorm, Morrison Hall. The library, where I discovered the Dehey book, is on the other side of Spalding. I passed by Presentation Academy several times a day.
The Spalding dining commons and bookstore were located in the basement of the large granite building shown on the university page.
The Sisters who roomed in the other dorm wing would sometimes give me a ride to clinical at St Anthony's Hospital.
"Our Lady of the Highway, may all your paths be peace."
SCN Vocational Link:
https://scnfamily.org/sisters/vocation/