The history of the Salesian School begins with a man named David Haight, who first built the mansion on the property sometime around 1834-1864. When he passed away in 1876, he was laid to rest in the nearby Haight Mausoleum, which was built for his family in 1872. The property eventually foreclosed in 1922, and changed hands for some time before being purchased again.

In 1925 the Salesian Fathers purchased the property for approximately $61,000 and opened it as a Catholic resident school for boys. The mansion served as an administration building, and the main schoolhouse was constructed in 1931.

On the night of August 9th, 1964, a nine year old boy plummeted to his death after falling 36 feet off the roof. For some reason, the case has only been re-investigated in 2003. The new coroner's observation is that the distance from the boy's body to the wall seems too far to suggest he had simply fallen off the roof. Disputes over the time of death, uncooperative staff, and student records missing in a 1970 fire have all been roadblocks in solving the cause of this boy's death.

The school's enrollment eventually declined, although nothing points to the above incident being the cause, and it was closed in the fall of 1985. It operated as a youth center afterward, until the campus closed in 1991 when the order sold the property. The mansion has been condemned after a collapse on one side, and is slated for demolition in order to build a new library. The large school building is being surveyed for the possibility of re-use.

Other landmarks on the property include a tall water tower, graveyard, a grotto, and an altar built into the landscape.