Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainAuburn's most iconic landmark was built in 1888 on the ashes of Old Main, a Civil War–era hospital. A spectral guard is said to still watch over the campus from the clock tower.
321 Samford Ave, Auburn, AL 36849
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to view as a public campus landmark. The exterior and grounds are open to visitors; the interior houses university administration offices.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved campus grounds; the building's public areas are accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1888 · Replaced Old Main, a Civil War Confederate hospital that burned in 1887 · Bricks from Old Main incorporated into current structure · Part of Auburn University Historic District (National Register of Historic Places) · Named for Governor William James Samford, Auburn alumnus
When Auburn University opened in 1859 as East Alabama Male College, its main academic building was a structure called Old Main. The building occupied the same plot where Samford Hall stands today at the center of campus. During the Civil War, Old Main served as a makeshift hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers, one of several campus buildings pressed into service as the war brought casualties to Lee County.
On June 24, 1887, Old Main burned to the ground. The cause of the fire is not documented in surviving accounts reviewed for this record. Construction of a replacement began immediately, and in 1888 Samford Hall was completed. The builders incorporated bricks salvaged from Old Main's ruins into the new construction. The design roughly mirrored its predecessor, with the notable addition of a tall flanking tower containing a clock — the feature that would make Samford Hall Auburn's most recognizable landmark.
Samford Hall was named in honor of William James Samford, an Auburn alumnus who served as Governor of Alabama from 1900 to 1901. The building today houses the university's administrative offices, including the offices of the president and provost. It is the symbolic center of the Auburn campus and appears on virtually all university branding. Samford Hall is part of the Auburn University Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sources
The folklore of Samford Hall centers on the memory of Old Main and the soldiers who were treated and died there during the Civil War. According to Her Campus Auburn's collection of campus ghost legends and the Auburn-Opelika Tourism haunted-places feature, two figures from that period are said to persist on the grounds.
The most frequently described is described as a Civil War-era doctor: his boot-steps have been heard on the second and third floors of Samford Hall during quiet hours, a sound with no apparent source. The second is identified as a sentinel — a soldier, reportedly visible standing at the clock tower during late-night hours, watching over the campus below as if still at his post.
Faith Serafin's regional paranormal book Haunted Auburn and Opelika, referenced across multiple local sources, frames the Samford Hall accounts within the broader pattern of Civil War ghost lore concentrated at Auburn, where several campus buildings were used as hospitals and many soldiers died far from home. The accounts are consistent across sources but remain in the domain of oral tradition; no formal paranormal investigations of Samford Hall are documented in available records.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Samford Hall anchors the Auburn University main quad. The clock tower is the visual centerpiece of campus. Visitors walk the grounds to view the building and learn about its predecessor, Old Main, which served as a Civil War hospital before burning in 1887.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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