Historic Catholic women's college in Baltimore that merged with Loyola College in 1971.
Mount Saint Agnes College opened in 1890 as a Catholic women's college operated by the Sisters of Mercy on land in Baltimore's Mount Washington neighborhood. The property had previously housed Mount Washington Female College (1856–1861), a Lutheran-affiliated institution. The college was named after the wife of Charles Dougherty, who sold the land to the Sisters of Mercy in 1870. Over its 81-year history, the college became an established institution for women's higher education in Maryland.
The Octagon served as the college's primary building, originally constructed for Mount Washington Female College. As enrollment grew, Atkinson Hall was built in 1925 to accommodate additional students. In the 1960s, Mount Saint Agnes initiated a student exchange program with nearby Loyola College, which proved successful but short-lived. By the late 1960s, financial pressures and changing demographics prompted discussions of a broader three-way merger with Loyola and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, though this plan did not materialize.
Mount Saint Agnes merged with Loyola College in 1971 and ceased operating as an independent degree-granting institution in 1972. Loyola University Maryland continues to oversee the Mount Saint Agnes Alumnae Association and offers two annual scholarships in honor of the college's legacy. The former campus was later purchased by Johns Hopkins University in 2003 and now operates as the Mount Washington campus. The Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women continues to operate from the former Provincial House on the site.