Florida State University's 1910 Collegiate Gothic landmark sits atop the former Gallows Hill, Tallahassee's 1829 execution ground — and Westcott Fountain is the focus of FSU's most-told campus ghost lore.
222 South Copeland Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior viewing and Westcott Fountain are free during public campus hours. Ruby Diamond Concert Hall ticketing varies by event.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Campus sidewalks and plaza; the Westcott Building interior has stairs.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1910 · FSU's oldest standing building · 1829 Gallows Hill execution-ground site · Collegiate Gothic architecture by William Augustus Edwards · Houses Ruby Diamond Concert Hall · Architectural focal point of FSU campus
The James D. Westcott Memorial Building stands at the eastern terminus of College Avenue on Florida State University's Tallahassee campus, at coordinates 30.4407° N, 84.2917° W. It was constructed in 1910 as the Administration Building for the Florida State College for Women and was renamed in 1936 in honor of Florida jurist James D. Westcott Jr., who in 1887 bequeathed his estate to the institution. The structure was designed by William Augustus Edwards in the Collegiate Gothic style and remains FSU's oldest standing building and the architectural centerpiece of the campus.
The building houses Ruby Diamond Concert Hall, FSU's principal performance venue. The plaza in front features the Westcott Fountain, an FSU landmark associated with the institution's traditions and student folklore.
The area now occupied by the Westcott Building, Westcott Gate, and Westcott Fountain sits atop the historical site known as Gallows Hill. According to FSU Special Collections' 'School Spirits' feature, Gallows Hill was constructed in 1829 as Tallahassee's public-execution ground. The first person hanged at Gallows Hill, per Special Collections, was a woman convicted of killing her child, followed by additional executions of convicted criminals through the early statehood period. The execution-ground use predates the construction of the FSU campus by roughly eighty years; the present buildings rest on the same geographic high ground.
The broader Westcott Plaza and adjoining drill-field history have been the basis for additional campus folklore involving the West Florida Cadet Battalion, a Confederate-era predecessor unit associated with one of FSU's antecedent institutions. FSU Special Collections frames these accounts as campus folklore.
The Westcott Building is on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure within FSU's historic campus core. Ruby Diamond Concert Hall is publicly accessible during ticketed performances; the rest of the building is administrative.
Sources
According to FSU Special Collections' 'School Spirits: Ghosts at Florida State,' the area around Westcott Gate and Westcott Fountain is the most-told ghost story on the FSU campus and originates decades before the institution was founded. Students traversing the fountain plaza at night have reported chills, unexplained sounds, and the feeling of being watched in the area Special Collections identifies as the former execution ground.
HauntedPlaces.org's Tallahassee entry adds adjacent lore that ties Confederate-era cadets of the West Florida Cadet Battalion — an FSU predecessor — to the parade grounds where they have reportedly been seen drilling at night. FSU Special Collections classifies these as campus folklore rather than documented apparitions. We treat all reports here as folklore documented in published university and tourism sources, not as verified paranormal events.
The Gallows Hill story is the more substantively sourced of the two, in that the 1829 execution-ground use is on FSU's own historical record. The cadet-drilling accounts are more clearly folklore.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Walk-by visit to the Westcott Building exterior, Westcott Fountain, and the area FSU Special Collections identifies as the former site of Gallows Hill. A FSU Legacy Walk plaque interprets the building's history.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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