The Benedictine monks who came to St. Mary's in 1850 built a Romanesque Revival sandstone church terraced above Church Street, with a clock tower and steeple above the entrance. Although the church has been altered, it dominates the complex with the large, three-story buff brick convent and St. Mary's Middle School attached on either side to accommodate the county's harsh winters. Less than a mile to the northwest, the Benedictine monks built a three-story stone monastery (1870; 763 Johnsonburg Road) that was replaced within two decades by the priory on Church Street and now serves as the Elk Regional Health Center.
Although the Benedictine St. Joseph's monastery is historically more important, the Benedictine priory of 1889–1890 and its gymnasium of 1902 to the east have more of their original fabric intact. The red brick, three-story Italianate priory houses Benedictine priests who serve both the St. Mary's and