Midway between Shelby and Mansfield on Route 39 is an impressive landmark that graces the landscape behind old trees and a wide lawn.
It has been known as Abraxas for the last 25 years, but the history of the place goes back much farther on the timeline.
The foundation for the institute was an ornate old brick farmhouse built in 1884, that was already notable on the country road for its distinctive octagonal cupola.
In 1934 the farmhouse was purchased by the Society of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for use as a school to prepare missionaries; and then in 1934, 1938 and 1949, annexes, wings and additions were appended to the place known as Sacred Heart Seminary.
Ultimately the missionaries moved their operations to Chicago in 1970, and the school struggled until 1986 when it was put up for sale. In 1993, the old seminary was adapted for new use as a treatment facility for teens called Abraxas.
