Illinois's Oldest University and Its Troubled Alumni House
701 College Rd, Lebanon, IL 62254
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The Alumni House is a university facility, not open to the general public for paranormal visits.
Access
Limited Access
Mixed paved and grass campus paths
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1828 · Methodist Higher Education · Illinois History · Oldest Illinois University
McKendree University traces its roots to 1828, when pioneer Methodists opened the Lebanon Seminary in two rented sheds for 72 students under Edward Raymond Ames. In 1830, with the blessing of Bishop William McKendree — the first American-born bishop of the Methodist church — the institution changed its name to McKendree College. Reverend Peter Akers became its first president in 1833.
The college received one of the first independent church college charters granted by the Illinois legislature in 1835, and operated under an expanded charter from 1839 onward. The 235-acre wooded campus 25 minutes from downtown St. Louis remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The institution was renamed McKendree University for the 2007-08 academic year.
The Alumni House, one of the older campus structures, has a documented history of tragedy among its occupants. An elderly woman died at the bottom of its stairs, and her husband subsequently died by suicide in the building. A child also died there under unclear circumstances. The back office, which served as a nursery, is described by multiple sources as maintaining an unusual cold even during summer months.
Sources
The cold in the back office of the Alumni House — the room that served as the building's nursery — is the detail that recurs most consistently across reports. Even in July, occupants working late in that room describe a chill that seems independent of the building's HVAC. The office connects directly to a documented death: a child who died there in circumstances described only as illness.
Footsteps reported in the Alumni House follow a characteristic pattern: audible on the lower floors during late evening, consistent enough in location that multiple people have noted them independently. There is no confirmed account of a visual apparition inside the house.
The garden shed at the back of the Alumni House property has generated a different category of account. Multiple observers describe red eyes appearing in the shed doorway, described as floating at approximately human head height and tracking the observer's movement toward the parking area. These accounts are specific in detail but have no historical anchor — no documented event, no identified figure.
A separate thread of campus lore involves a student death in the bell tower. Reports of a presence there are diffuse and uncorroborated. The Alumni House accounts are more internally consistent.
McKendree University's 235-acre campus in Lebanon contains several historic 19th-century buildings. The Alumni House is a private university facility. Visitors can explore the campus exterior and grounds during daylight hours.
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