Council Bluffs Changing Scene: This is the St. Francis Academy, as it appeared in the Illustrated Atlas of Pottawattamie County published in 1885. The school, at Fifth Ave. and Seventh St., was founded as a private institution by the Sisters of…
More recently used as a classroom building and convent for St. Francis students and teachers, it has outlived its usefulness. The convent was moved into a new building at left. New additions in the lower picture include street paving, street…
In 1887, St. Francis Xavier Academy stood at the corner of Seventh St. and Fifth Ave. The building, then surrounded by young trees and a white rail fence, was used as an exclusive girls school which attracted students from all over the Midwest. At…