In 1866, facing a cholera outbreak in
Galveston immediately after the
Civil War and unable to summon help from American congregations, Bishop
Claude Dubuis called
religious sisters from France to nurse the sick. Three sisters who answered the call along with Dubuis founded the
Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. In 1869 Dubius nominated three sisters to start a San Antonio congregation, which subsequently established an infirmary (later to become
Christus Santa Rosa Hospital), an orphanage, and a school. On the land are the
springs that start the
San Antonio River. Opening September 13, 1900, the sisters taught just 21 students in the first term at their new convent. The school expanded, and in 1950 enrollment necessitated a distinct high school building, constructed at the high school's current location of 727 E Hildebrand Ave, situated on the scenic hill known as Mount Erin. The $1 million building, planned for 750 students, consisted of classrooms, a residence hall to house 150 girls, and a
gymnasium. 1961 saw Mount Erin Chapel built, repurposing the original chapel as the testing and academic center. In 1966 Incarnate Word had only one male teacher on staff, only its second male teacher up to then. In the early 1970s, the high school incorporated modular scheduling and built its science building, a new library, and swimming pool. In 1978, despite resistance from Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and the
San Antonio Conservation Society, the Texas Highway Department constructed
US 281 through Incarnate Word school, separating the high school from the college, with the Sky Bridge connecting the campuses as the sisters stipulated. IWHS became part of the Brainpower Connection with Incarnate Word College (now the
University of the Incarnate Word) in 1989. 550 in 2016, and 395 . The high school is managed independently from the
University of the Incarnate Word since the beginning of 2020, and in December 2022 the school announced its first president as part of the new structure. ==References==