Springfield's urban legends
Are they fact, fiction, or a little in between?
Kaitlyn McConnell and Logan Hoffman
Issue date: 10/29/08 Section: Life
Previously known as the Kentwood Arms Hotel, the building was constructed near downtown Springfield in 1926. The five story hotel contained the Crystal Dining Room, which held many notable banquets, dances, and public meetings. Famous visitors to the hotel included Harry Truman, Pat Nixon, Bob Hope, Groucho Marx and Jeanette McDonald. The hotel was badly damaged in 1978 after it was ravaged by fire; it is circulated today that the residents whose room the fire started in haunt the hotel. The building is currently owned by Missouri State University and is operated as a dormitory.
Also known as the "Albino Farm," Springlawn Farm was located off N. National near Greenlawn Cemetery. At one time managed by an albino caretaker, it has been said that today the caretaker haunts the premises, scaring off would be trespassers. Other accounts of the farm stories include the presence of a "colony" of albinos being held captive on the farm; some say that experiments were conducted on the captives at one time.
The haunting of Smith Hall traces back to after the dormitory's construction in 1966. The building was constructed where several Victorian homes were burned in a large fire years before. It is rumored that a little girl who lived in one of the homes was killed trying to retrieve her teddy bear. According to stories, the little girl has been sighted walking the halls still searching for her teddy bear. There have been other tales of students coming back to their rooms and their locked doors standing wide open, with dresser drawers pulled out and a teddy bear sitting in the middle of the room.
Also known as the "Albino Farm," Springlawn Farm was located off N. National near Greenlawn Cemetery. At one time managed by an albino caretaker, it has been said that today the caretaker haunts the premises, scaring off would be trespassers. Other accounts of the farm stories include the presence of a "colony" of albinos being held captive on the farm; some say that experiments were conducted on the captives at one time.
The haunting of Smith Hall traces back to after the dormitory's construction in 1966. The building was constructed where several Victorian homes were burned in a large fire years before. It is rumored that a little girl who lived in one of the homes was killed trying to retrieve her teddy bear. According to stories, the little girl has been sighted walking the halls still searching for her teddy bear. There have been other tales of students coming back to their rooms and their locked doors standing wide open, with dresser drawers pulled out and a teddy bear sitting in the middle of the room.
Article last update: 10/28/08 at 7:55 PM CST
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Wm. Garvin
posted 10/29/08 @ 9:01 AM CST
I just wanted to let you know that we looked into the Smith Hall story several years ago. What we found is that there have _never_ been any other buildings on the site of Smith Hall--no Victorian homes, nothing. (Continued…)
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