An 1851 Texas college building said to be haunted by a Victorian woman on the third floor and the apparition of Sam Houston himself.
1843 University Ave, Huntsville, TX 77340
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Public university campus; free to walk the grounds during open hours.
Access
Limited Access
Older university building with stairs; limited accessibility in original 1851 structure.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1851 · One of the oldest academic buildings west of the Mississippi River · National Register of Historic Places (2013) · Founded as Austin College (1851) · Sam Houston Normal Institute heritage
Austin Hall was constructed in 1851 as the anchor building of Austin College, a Presbyterian institution chartered that same year in Huntsville. The two-story Greek Revival structure was built during a period when Huntsville stood as one of the more prosperous towns in the Texas frontier — the county seat of Walker County and a hub of commerce between Houston and the interior.
Austin College operated from the building through the post-Civil War decades, but in 1876 the college relocated north to Sherman, Texas, where it continues to operate today. The abandoned Huntsville campus was subsequently reorganized as Sam Houston Normal Institute in 1879, an institution chartered to train teachers for the growing Texas public school system. That institution grew into Sam Houston State University, one of the oldest public universities in Texas.
Austin Hall survived the institution's transformation and continued to serve administrative and classroom functions. Its longevity gave it a particular claim in regional historical circles: it has been described as among the oldest surviving academic buildings constructed west of the Mississippi River, a distinction that contributed to its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
The building's age, its long institutional tenure, and its association with the broader history of Sam Houston — the Republic's founding figure after whom the university is named — have made it a focal point for campus folklore and ghost stories, particularly as told to incoming students each fall.
Sources
Austin Hall carries three ghost traditions on the Sam Houston State campus, all documented in student and local media accounts.
The oldest reported figure is described as an elderly maid visible at one of the building's end windows. Accounts of this apparition appear in a 2002 campus history blog that compiled ghost stories associated with SHSU's historic buildings; the maid's identity is not established, and no documentation ties the description to a specific historical employee.
The second figure is a woman in Victorian-era dress seen in the third-floor hallways. The description — period clothing, third floor — fits the style of ghost tradition common to 19th-century institutional buildings, and the account has circulated in campus publications without embellishment or additional detail.
The most prominent tradition connects Austin Hall to Sam Houston himself. Multiple accounts — including a report in the Houstonian, the SHSU student newspaper — describe Houston's apparition appearing in back windows of the building at night. The image is described as looking out from the interior darkness, visible from the campus grounds. The tradition may be encouraged by the building's name and its proximity to Houston's memorial museum a short distance away on the same street.
None of these accounts are corroborated by documentation, physical evidence, or investigator recordings. They are campus folklore, circulated most actively in the weeks around Halloween and in orientation-period storytelling about SHSU's historic campus.
Notable Entities
Austin Hall sits on the Sam Houston State University historic quad. Visitors can walk the campus grounds and view the exterior of the 1851 structure, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. Interior access depends on university scheduling.
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