Built in 1840, it housed the South Academy until 1888, when it was purchased by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

It is a prominent local example of Gothic Revival architecture, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

It is a two-story brick structure, with a gabled roof and a single-story rear addition.

[2] Bakersfield was settled in the 1790s, and its citizens began to raise money for a local institution of secondary education in the 1830s.

The building was given the name "South Academy", and its ground floor was used for religious services by a Methodist congregation.