Cistercian students. Photo courtesy of Jack Drake via Preston Hollow History.

Neighbors know Preston Hollow as the site of Catholic schools such as Ursuline Academy, Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, St. Rita’s and more.

But decades ago, another school called our neighborhood home: Cistercian Preparatory School.

The all-boys school is now located in Irving, but it first started educating 47 boys at a campus on Walnut Hill Lane in 1962. It remained in our neighborhood until 1965, when it moved to Irving.

According to Jack Drake, the author of “Preston Hollow: A Brief History,” the students liked having recess in the trees and near Bachman Creek.

Before Cistercian, the home was the site of Ursuline’s Merici High School.

See historical photos here.