A TYCOON'S GHOST

One of St. Augustine Florida's most well known spirits belongs to that of the tycoon Henry Flagler. Henry Flagler first visited this city in 1884 while honeymooning with his second wife, Alice, The wealthy railroad magnate and oil partner of John D. Rockefeller Sr. was much impressed with the area, especially its moneymaking potential as a resort haven for the elite. Thus, in 1885 Henry Flagler returned to St. Augustine to remain with the intention of developing a vaction land for the high and powerful.

Mr. Flagler built many hotels in Florida; his three most famous in St. Augustine were the Ponce de Leon, The Alcazar, and The Cordova. The Ponce de Leon later became Flagler College while the Alcazar is now the Lightner Museum and the Cordova was turned into a government office building.

Henry Flagler died while visiting friends in Palm Beach on May 20, 1913 and his body was returned to St. Augustine where it lay in state in the rotunda of the Ponce de Leon.  The ghost of Mr. Flagler wasted no time in announcing its presence and also leaving an indelible impression behind.  When the funeral cortege arrived to remove Mr. Flagler's body from the rotunda for burial the huge doors slammed loudly closed behind them by themselves.  The assembled were frozen in shock.  After time passed and nerves steadied someone found the strength to approach the doors and open them so that the body of the late tycoon could be carried out in procession.

The spirit had left something behind, however.  Decorating the rotunda floor is an impressive design of tiles.  If a person investigates the tiles close enough he will find a dime-sized impression of the likeness of Henry Flagler which appeared there after his death.  The impression is still there today.

In 1968 the Ponce de Leon was converted into Flagler College, a small liberal arts school of high quality.  Ghosts of Henry Flagler, his second wife, and his mistress haunt this building of higher education.

Alice Flagler was an energetic, pretty, wildly eccentric strawberry blonde.  After a life of indulgence and extravagance she eventually declined into insanity and was placed in an asylum where she died raving at the walls.

Today her ghost is often seen in the coed's dormitory of the college.  A ghostly apparition fitting her description has been seen walking the halls and standing at the end of a bed, peering quietly down at the person who happens to be sleeping there that night.  Her face has occasionally appeared on dormitory doors.  Obviously, Mrs. Flagler has chosen to stay at the hotel.  Certainly better than being at an insane asylum.

Perhaps Mrs. Flagler has remained to keep watch for the ghost of her late husband's mistress. The "other woman" was unusually fond of black attire as is her ghost. The mistress lived at the Ponce de Leon. On one occasion Mrs. Flagler came to the hotel for a lengthy stay and in order to avoid trouble Mr. Flagler exiled his mistress to a room at the far end of the building to keep the two women from meeting. The mistress could not tolerate this situation and eventually hung herself in despair. Hers is the ghost in black who makes appearances on the top floor of the west wing. Apparently she and Mrs. Flagler have not met in the afterlife either.

Flagler College is a school that has given a special meaning to the concept of a well-rounded education. Maybe Haunting 101 should be added to the curriculum.