Black and white photograph (25 x 20 cm.) with a view of the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Omaha, Nebraska, after it had been partly destroyed by the tornado of March 23, 1913. In front is a man in a uniform, cap, and white gloves, holding a rifle who appears to be guarding the school.
Few disasters have devastated Omaha as completely as the Easter Tornado of March 23, 1913. The storm descended with terrible force just after Easter services on Sunday evening. The tornado created a path of destruction seven miles long and a quarter mile wide. It killed 140 Omahans and injured 400 others. The Academy of the Sacred Heart was opened in 1882 on the corner of 36th & Burt streets. In 1904, the Sisters of Mercy assumed operation of the school. The Easter Tornado caused such extensive damage to the north side of the building that plans were made to level it. Concerned citizens stepped forward and the building was repaired rather than razed. In 1915, the school added college courses and renamed itself Duchesne College and Convent of the Sacred Heart, after Mother Philippine Duchesne. Duchesne was a French nun and member of the Order of the Society of the Sacred Heart, whose educational mission she brought to the United States. The college closed in 1968, and the elementary school was phased out, but the secondary school continues to educate young women.
