The landscaped grounds are on the side of a hill overlooking a mixed residential and light industrial area along the Mississippi River to the south.

The LeClaire Reserve, which is largely made up of residential neighborhoods, is located to the north and west.

William Stevens Perry, the second Bishop of Iowa announced his intention to build a school for girls in Davenport.

The college property today is the location of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and Davenport Central High School.

The diocese was able to consider opening a new school for girls based on the will of Sarah Burr from New York City.

[4] They chose a residence on the east side of Davenport called "Cambria Place," the former home of John L. Davies, for the location of the school that opened in 1884.

[4] The institution was considered a "superior" church boarding school with a college preparatory curriculum.

[6] St. Mary's Chapel and a gymnasium were built in 1903 and the neighboring Renwick House was added to the campus in 1909.

A former teacher at St. Katharine's, Marion Crandall, was the first American woman killed in World War I.

[8] When the school moved to Bettendorf, the St. Katharine's property was sold and became a nursing home complex.

[9] The buildings started to fall into disrepair until they were bought in 1997 by historic property developer Chris Ales, who converted the complex into a senior living center in 2001.

[10] The Renwick House was renovated by Ales for his company's headquarters, but he was forced to sell the property to Dr. Joseph Seng in 2007.

Charles Van Quickenborne, SJ, led the first Christian service in what would become the city of Davenport.

He erected a crucifix made from native black walnut on a crude altar placed on top of what he called a Mass Mound.

[13] He gathered both the white settlers and the Native Americans in the region, regardless of their faith, and celebrated Mass for a week.

Pelamourges, the first pastor of St. Anthony's Church in Davenport regularly meditated at the site and was known to spend the night in prayer there before the cross before major decisions or when problems arose.

It destroyed 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land, 250 people were left homeless, and businesses suffered $1.25 million in losses.

[12][15] A shrine was erected in 1928 at the Mass Mound site to the southwest of where the main building is located.

An altar dedicated to Saint Joseph was blessed by Dean Philbrook of Trinity Cathedral on April 29, 1931.

Both Cambria Place and the Renwick Mansion were designed by John C. Cochrane, who was one of Davenport's first professional architects.

Cambria Place is an eclectic version of the Italian Villa and exemplifies the extravagant Late Victorian architecture found in Davenport.

The house was constructed of red brick, with a hipped roof covered in slate, ornamented eve brackets, decorative gabled dormers, and different window shapes.

By the end of the decade, William continued the business as a sole proprietor named Renwick & Company.

[2] The two-story house features a tripartite, symmetrical facade that is clad in rock-faced limestone.

The interior features 12-foot (3.7 m) to 14-foot (4.3 m) high wood parlor doors, eight fireplaces, and a three-story staircase.

Designed in a late Victorian Eclectic style, it is capped with a high hipped mansard roof.

It is a three-story brick structure that follows a largely rectangular plan and it is capped by a hipped roof.

Constructed in brick, the chapel features a square bell tower on the south side that is crenelated at the top.