A Campus Treasure

Emily Boyd
Kappa Kappa Gamma

Every day, students of the University of Texas cross campus as they trek from class to class, past buildings widely dominated by the architecture styles of the Spanish Renaissance. Yet in a certain spot somewhere west of the Tower, despite the blazing sun or the cool breeze, students pick up the pace on their journey down the sidewalk. At the corner of Whitis and 24th Street, the copper spires and dim windows of Littlefield Home stick out like a sore thumb; its sharp auburn turrets cast an ominous shadow on the pavement.

Some believe it to be haunted, spreading the stories of Major George Littlefield and his wife of questionable sanity. Others turn their eyes from curiosity and remain content outside the intricate iron gate that separates Littlefield from the surrounding campus.

It brings character to the campus, that’s for sure, sitting in the middle of campus. At first glance, you just know it’s one of those buildings that has an interesting story behind it.

The main source of the mansion’s haunting aura comes from its Victorian and Gothic architectural stylings. Amid the University’s much more modern building designs, Littlefield Home remains stubbornly rooted in the central campus area, boasting its ornate columns and spiraling grillwork in an ostentatious manner characteristic of the Victorian era.

George Littlefield, who came to Texas with his family in 1850, served in the Civil War as a Texas Ranger and later moved to Austin in 1883 to begin his career as a banker. As a regent of the University of Texas, he contributed generous funds for new buildings and libraries on campus, and built his own home on the outskirts of the 40 Acres 11 years later.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, the Littlefield mansion is a campus landmark that Texas students have grown to love. It acts as a portal into our University’s past, and reminds us of all the people that were here before we were. It shows that our campus has a history worth preserving.

The mysteries that encompass Littlefield Home stem from Alice, Littlefield’s wife, who often occupied the mansion alone while her husband conducted business elsewhere. According to folklore, Littlefield locked her in the attic to protect her from Yankees still clinging to Civil War resentments. Some say during her imprisonment, bats attacked her, and her horrified shrieks echo through the mansion to this day.

The second floor of the home today is used as office space for Resource Development Special Programs, while the first floor remains primarily quiet and undisturbed. Some staff members report uneasy feelings from working in the old house, as to be expected when the allegedly haunted attic lies a few feet above their workspace.

Students claim to have seen the small, circular window at the top of the attic turret shuttered at times, and unshuttered at others. This feat can only be achieved by climbing into the deserted attic and crawling through a small hole that allows access to the inside of the turret. Have certain dauntless students taken on the challenge to promote the Littlefield mystery? Or does Alice’s ghost still linger inside those old brick walls?

Emily is a sophomore studying journalism and Plan I English. You may contact her at emily.boyd14@mail.utexas.edu.