Former Buffalo University Now a Charter School Campus
24 Agassiz Cir, Buffalo, NY 14214
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Former university campus now operating as charter school; not a public attraction
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved campus paths
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1937 · Buffalo Educational History · Sisters of St. Joseph · Olmsted Crescent
The institution now known as the former Medaille University traces its founding to 1937, when the Sisters of St. Joseph established it in Buffalo, naming it in honor of their founder Jean Paul Médaille. Earlier accounts in local paranormal tradition describe a predecessor institution on the site as a 'School for Boys,' connected to the paranormal lore.
Medaille became a nonsectarian, coeducational college before eventually achieving university status. The 15-acre campus on Agassiz Circle sits within the Olmsted Crescent, a network of parkways and green spaces designed by Frederick Law Olmsted — one of Buffalo's most significant architectural inheritances.
The university filed for dissolution in 2023 following financial difficulties. Its final commencement was held in May 2023, and the institution officially closed August 31, 2023. The Erie County Supreme Court subsequently approved the sale of the campus to Charter Schools Development Corp. BuffSci Charter School began operating at the location in September 2024.
The main building's fourth floor is cited in the campus's persistent paranormal folklore, with student legends focused on the upper floors dating back several generations.
Sources
Two distinct paranormal traditions circulate in connection with the Medaille campus. The first involves apparitions of children dressed in mid-20th century clothing — specifically 1944 attire is mentioned in several accounts — sitting in classrooms as if attending lessons. They appear to behave normally, described as searching for teachers and sitting through instruction. The accounts attribute these figures to former students from the building's earlier institutional life.
The second tradition, more dramatic and specific, concerns the fourth floor of the main building. Student generations at Medaille passed along an account of a boy who hanged himself on that floor. Upperclassmen would warn new students not to walk the fourth floor alone at night, describing the possibility of encountering the figure.
Neither account has been verified through institutional records or Buffalo news archives. The death-by-hanging legend is a common campus folklore archetype found across dozens of American universities. The child apparitions in historical clothing are a more unusual and specific detail, connecting the more prosaic legend to the site's particular institutional history.
The former Medaille University campus on Agassiz Circle in Buffalo now houses BuffSci Charter School, which opened in September 2024. The campus sits within the Olmsted Crescent, a historic parkway system. No public paranormal access is available; view from the street only.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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