The facility, a former Indian boarding school, was transferred by the federal government to the Catholic Church for "college purposes".
The athletic teams at Columbus were known as the Mariners and competed in the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference.
[3] In August 1929, Columbus College announced that it was closing because of financial difficulties.
In 1927 the complex was purchased by Priests of the Sacred Heart to establish St. Joseph's Indian School, for students K-8.
Based in Wisconsin, the order established a mission at the Cheyenne River Reservation and assigned numerous priests to South Dakota.