Lady Bird Johnson’s Brick House

Lady Bird Johnson was married to Lyndon Baines Johnson, who became president after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. The Johnson’s were from Texas.

When she was first lady, Mrs. Johnson was known for her desire to beautify America. But her interest went beyond this. She was a strong advocate for conservation and historic preservation.

Lady Bird with President
Johnson.

Her father, Thomas Jefferson Taylor and her mother, Minnie Patillo Taylor, lived in the small town of Karnack located in east Texas. Mr. Taylor was a landowner and local merchant. He bought a stately mansion is known as The Brick House in 1902.

Lady Bird was Taylor’s third child and was born in the home.

The Brick House

Milt Andrews a Confederate Colonel, some sources state he was a Captain, had the Brick House built-in 1843. It was constructed of bricks made by slave hands.

This mansion is a classic example of antebellum architecture. It has impressive brick columns and three brick fireplaces. Its balcony is 30 feet high. The estate has four sets of double doors that lead to the home’s central hall. Access to the second story is via an exterior staircase only.

By the time the Taylors bought the home, it was in sad need of repair. They undertook extensive renovations. The eccentric owner they bought the mansion from, had left one room filled with hickory nuts.

Lady Bird at age 3.

Lady Bird’s mother died when she was four years old. Minnie tripped over the family’s collie in 1912, as she walked down the stairs. She was pregnant at the time, and she miscarried. A few days later she died of septicemia.

Lady Bird was christened, Claudia Alta but her nurse, Alice Tittle, stating the little girl was “as pretty as a ladybird,” named her Lady Bird. This nickname stuck with her the rest of her life.

Lady Bird graduated from The University of Texas with a B.A. in Journalism. After her father died, a Taylor relative donated 385 acres of the family estate in 1934. Today this section is a part of the Caddo Lake State Park.

The Taylor family still owns The Brick House and they keep it in pristine condition. Lady Bird’s former home is not only beautiful, but it is also haunted.

A well-known legend states that a young girl was struck by lightning in the home, and her ghost has haunted the bedroom she stayed in ever since.

This young lady was the original owner, Milt Andrew’s daughter, Eunice. She went by the name Oonie. One day as she was sitting in her bedroom rocking chair, during a storm, in the 1860s, a bolt of lightning rushed down the chimney and struck her—she was burned and died.

Since her death, people say her spirit has never left this room. When the Taylors bought The Brick House, her ghost came with it.

Lady Bird stated she never saw or heard this ghost, but that every time she was in Oogie's former bedroom as a little girl, she became nervous. She felt something unseen was in the room with her.

Alice Tittle holding Lady Bird.

Lady Bird said the servants often told her they saw Miss Oonie. They described this ghost was surrounded in light and was slight of build. She wore a white dress, and her hair stood on end—the result of being hit by lightning.

In August of 1966, a newspaper article mentioned Lady Bird’s brother Tony Taylor and this haunting. He states various family members did hear a woman sobbing in the mansion at night. They also heard creepy sounds of something moving about.

The Taylor family has taken this haunting in stride. For several generations, they have felt this female ghost gives the home a unique character. They refer to her as “a lady who lives in the house that nobody sees.”