When I hear the name Lady Bird Johnson, I immediately think of wildflowers. She was, after all, a visionary environmentalist who focused on protecting and preserving North America’s native plants, including Texas wildflowers.
But did you know that Texas native Lady Bird Johnson grew up in a haunted house?
High on a hill 2 ½ miles outside of Karnack, Texas an isolated white mansion surrounded by trees, fields and bayous houses a special place in Texas history — as well as its very own ghost.
The imposing, 17-room plantation style mansion known as the Brick House was built in 1843 by Cephus Andrews. It was also the site of a tragedy.
In 1861 during a violent thunderstorm, Andrews’ 19-year-old daughter Eunice, known as “Oonie,” sat in her bedroom beside a fireplace. Lightning struck the chimney and raced downward striking the young girl and consuming her in flames.
Legend has it that Oonie’s spirit has never left the home. Stories have been passed down through the years of eerie noises, ghostly apparitions, misplaced objects and other odd occurrences…all attributed to poor Oonie.
In 1902 the Andrews family sold their home and thousands of acres of cotton to the wealthiest man in town, Thomas Jefferson Taylor. He also owned two cotton gins, a fishing business and two country stores emblazoned with boastful signs stating “T. J. Taylor—Dealer in Everything.”
Taylor and his wife Minnie had two sons, and in 1912 added their only daughter Claudia Alta Taylor. Her nursemaid took one look at the dark-haired baby and said she was “as purty as a lady bird.” The endearing nickname followed her throughout her life.
When Lady Bird was 5, the Brick House witnessed a second tragedy. Her mother fell down the staircase of the home and died a few days later from complications of a miscarriage caused by the accident.
Lady Bird, whose brothers were away at school (and weren’t even told about their mother’s death for almost a year), remained in the home and was raised by her maternal aunt Effie who came from Alabama to live at the home.
When asked about the Brick House’s ghost in later years, Lady Bird would say that she often had a feeling of apprehension and unease in the home. She spent most of her indoor time in her room, which was just down the hall from Oonie’s room that servants repeated warned her to stay away from…as they did. The sounds of the old house, including wind whipped through the sills of the floor to ceiling windows must have added to the spooky atmosphere.
Her aunt Effie believed that Minnie’s ghost visited her at night to instruct her about caring for Lady Bird, washing windows and taking care of other forgotten household chores.
In her 80’s Lady Bird told her biographer, “I would not, even now, at this age, feel comfortable being alone in that house myself.”
Luckily young Lady Bird was able to spend most of her time outdoors strolling through the woods and fields where she developed her love of nature’s beauty. So it’s perhaps indirectly thanks in part to the ghost of forever-young Oonie that Texas enjoys wildflowers along its highways each spring.
The home still stands as a national historic landmark, and is privately owned. I wonder if Oonie still provides caretaking instructions to them.
8 thoughts on “Lady Bird Johnson’s Haunted Childhood Home”
Sandy Psays:
One of my first students in Marshall Texas lived and I believe still lives in this house. That was in 1981. He talked about meeting Oonie and things she did! Remarkable to hear about this again as I near retirement.
I grew up on a ranch right next to this house in karnack for 22 years! My parents still live right by this house to this day! So awesome to know I grew up running barefoot in the wild flowers and pastures of karnack just like lady bird did.
i grew up on hwy 43 from a lil girl to now we lived 3 houses down from that house I still cant today wonder why it can not be shared with the world to tour it we deserve to learn the history maybe one year it will fall into the hands of the rite decedents to allow ppl to tour it
Ruth Taylor was my great aunt. I have a lot of memories of the history. Oonnie She was struck by the killing fingers of the lighting and fell into the fire. It was a horrible death. The story is in the book Ghost of East Texas by a well known local writer.
I used to live down a ways from that house. My mother bought a lot of land and we planned on putting a house on it but everything that could go wrong did from the lack of power to lack of water and nearly freezing very night. It was so much colder then it should of been and by the end of the month, my mother who had cancer lost the battle.
I keep wondering if their was something else going on there. Something we couldn’t see. I know my mother was sick but everything else that happened made no sense. It was way harder then it should of been, like someone was trying to stop us from being there. WE couldn’t get power, nor water to the lot and I always felt like something was watching us while we were there. Like some force didn’t want us there.
Several people from Linden Texas told us not to go there but we didn’t listen to them, especially my mother. She had a dream and she sought to achieve it. In case she didn’t win. Wishing we listened now.
I remember that house very well. My granny Paulines sister Ruth Taylor was married to TJ Taylor, Lady Birds Dad, untill he died. Spent many nights with Jerry Jones and his family. Loved the place and the memories till this day.
In 1902 the Andrews family sold their home and thousands of acres of cotton to the wealthiest man in town, Thomas Jefferson Taylor. He also owned two cotton gins, a fishing business and two country stores emblazoned with boastful signs stating “T. J. Taylor—Dealer in Everything.”
Taylor and his wife Minnie had two sons, and in 1912 added their only daughter Claudia Alta Taylor. Her nursemaid took one look at the dark-haired baby and said she was “as purty as a lady bird.” The endearing nickname followed her throughout her life.
When Lady Bird was 5, the Brick House witnessed a second tragedy. Her mother fell down the staircase of the home and died a few days later from complications of a miscarriage caused by the accident.
One of my first students in Marshall Texas lived and I believe still lives in this house. That was in 1981. He talked about meeting Oonie and things she did! Remarkable to hear about this again as I near retirement.
That’s amazing. Thanks for sharing this.
I grew up on a ranch right next to this house in karnack for 22 years! My parents still live right by this house to this day! So awesome to know I grew up running barefoot in the wild flowers and pastures of karnack just like lady bird did.
i grew up on hwy 43 from a lil girl to now we lived 3 houses down from that house I still cant today wonder why it can not be shared with the world to tour it we deserve to learn the history maybe one year it will fall into the hands of the rite decedents to allow ppl to tour it
Ruth Taylor was my great aunt. I have a lot of memories of the history. Oonnie She was struck by the killing fingers of the lighting and fell into the fire. It was a horrible death. The story is in the book Ghost of East Texas by a well known local writer.
Just incredible. Thank you for sharing this.
I used to live down a ways from that house. My mother bought a lot of land and we planned on putting a house on it but everything that could go wrong did from the lack of power to lack of water and nearly freezing very night. It was so much colder then it should of been and by the end of the month, my mother who had cancer lost the battle.
I keep wondering if their was something else going on there. Something we couldn’t see. I know my mother was sick but everything else that happened made no sense. It was way harder then it should of been, like someone was trying to stop us from being there. WE couldn’t get power, nor water to the lot and I always felt like something was watching us while we were there. Like some force didn’t want us there.
Several people from Linden Texas told us not to go there but we didn’t listen to them, especially my mother. She had a dream and she sought to achieve it. In case she didn’t win. Wishing we listened now.
I remember that house very well. My granny Paulines sister Ruth Taylor was married to TJ Taylor, Lady Birds Dad, untill he died. Spent many nights with Jerry Jones and his family. Loved the place and the memories till this day.