Haunted places guide · Little Rock, Arkansas

The Old State House, Little Rock: The 1837 Killing, the Ghosts and Visiting

Arkansas’s first capitol saw a legislator stabbed to death on the House floor, a vote to leave the Union and a governor’s war over its own front door. Some say its old chambers are not quite empty.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate places

3.2/5Haunted Rooms Score
1837Anthony killed on the House floor
1947Became a museum

Our nearest ghost hunt: Hotel Metropolitan, KYMeet the ghosts

The Old State House is the white Greek Revival building on West Markham Street in downtown Little Rock, set behind a brick courtyard and a cast-iron fountain. Begun in 1833, it served as Arkansas’s capitol until 1912. It is now a free museum of the state’s history and a National Historic Landmark.

Its ghost stories are quieter than its history, and the museum is honest about that: some employees have described odd noises and chills, while others, including staff quoted in local press, dismiss the idea. This guide tells the real events behind the stories, what has been reported, and how to visit.

Old State House at a glance

3.2/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation3
History5
Ghost hunter access2
Open to the public
  • Address 300 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
  • Built 1833 to 1842; capitol until 1912
  • Designed by Gideon Shryock, with changes by George Weigart
  • The killing Speaker John Wilson stabbed Rep. Joseph J. Anthony on December 4, 1837
  • Most haunted spot The old House of Representatives chamber
  • Reported ghosts Anthony, Wilson and the ousted claimant Joseph Brooks
  • Admission Free; open Tuesday to Sunday

Our nearest ghost hunt: Hotel Metropolitan, KY Visit / tours

History of the Old State House

Construction began in 1833 under territorial governor John Pope, to a design by the Kentucky architect Gideon Shryock. His assistant George Weigart changed the plans to save money and oversaw the work. Arkansas became a state in 1836, and the legislature met in the unfinished building; it was completed in 1842.

On December 4, 1837, during the first session of the state legislature, an argument on the floor of the House turned deadly. Speaker John Wilson killed Representative Joseph J. Anthony in a knife fight in the chamber. State Historian David Ware has described how Anthony held a chair to defend himself before Wilson took it from him. It remains the most notorious moment in the building’s history.

The building was at the center of the state’s crises for the rest of the century. Delegates met here to debate secession in 1861 and passed the ordinance after Fort Sumter. Union troops occupied it from September 1863 to the end of the war. During the Brooks-Baxter War of the 1870s, rival claimants to the governorship fought over the capitol, and the cannon known as Lady Baxter from that conflict still stands on the grounds. Joseph Brooks lost when President Grant backed Elisha Baxter.

After the new capitol opened in 1912, the old building housed a medical school, a war memorial and government offices. The legislature made it a museum in 1947. It was listed on the National Register in 1969 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1997. More recently it was the backdrop for Bill Clinton’s campaign launch in October 1991 and his election night celebrations in 1992 and 1996.

The ghosts of the Old State House

Joseph Anthony in the House chamber

The obvious candidate is J. J. Anthony, killed on the floor of the House in 1837. Stories say the chamber where he died is haunted, and some name his killer, John Wilson, as a second ghost. There is no specific sighting on record; the stories grow from the event itself.

Joseph Brooks

Another story says the dejected ghost of Joseph Brooks, who claimed the governorship in 1874 and was forced out, walks the halls of the building he fought over. It is a good story with no witness attached.

Noises, chills and moving objects

A local blog that interviewed museum workers in 2014 reported that some employees had heard noises in empty rooms, felt sudden chills and seen objects move, while the employee who spoke to them had experienced nothing herself. The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau says some visitors believe legislators still haunt the chamber.

What investigators found

When KARK took a team from Sweet n’ Sour Paranormal into the building for its 2022 Supernatural State series, they reported a faint voice in the children’s library, unclear replies on a recorder in the upstairs wing that once served the medical school, and a single hello on a radio sweep in a closed storage room. David Ware, who has spent years in the building, put the creaks down to floors built on the cheap. Make of it what you will.

Where to look

  • The House of Representatives chamber: where Joseph Anthony was killed in 1837, restored to its period look.
  • The upstairs wing: used by the medical school after 1912; investigators recorded here.
  • The front portico and courtyard: where Lady Baxter, the Brooks-Baxter War cannon, stands.
  • The Senate chamber: where secession was debated in 1861.

Visiting the Old State House

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM, and admission is free. It is run by Arkansas Heritage, a division of the state. Exhibits cover the building’s history, Arkansas politics and culture, and the restored legislative chambers. Check the museum’s calendar for tours and programs, which have included Halloween season events in some years.

The museum does not offer ghost tours or allow ghost hunting. If you want the stories told after dark, walking tours in Little Rock have included the Old State House among their stops, and the city’s visitor bureau publishes a self-guided route of haunted places that starts here.

The Capital Hotel, Little Rock’s best-known haunted hotel, is a block away on Markham Street, and the MacArthur Museum and Mount Holly Cemetery are each about a mile from the door. That makes the Old State House a natural first stop for a day of haunted Little Rock.

  • Visiting Free state museum
  • Hours and season Tuesday to Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM, Sunday 1 to 5 PM
  • Tickets Free
  • Ghost hunting No public ghost hunts

Tips for your visit

  • Stand in the restored House chamber where Anthony was killed.
  • Look for the Lady Baxter cannon on the grounds.
  • Go on a weekday afternoon for a quiet visit.
  • Have dinner at the Capital Hotel a block away, the city’s haunted grand hotel.
  • Use the visitor bureau’s self-guided haunted route to plan the rest of your day.

Go ghost hunting nearby

Visiting a haunted place by day is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through a historic building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and vigils, and gives you time to explore on your own. These are the nearest ones we run.

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Old State House in Little Rock haunted?

Some employees have reported noises, chills and moving objects, and stories name Rep. J. J. Anthony, killed in the House chamber in 1837, as a ghost. Other staff dismiss the idea, and no sighting is documented.

What happened in the Old State House in 1837?

On December 4, 1837, House Speaker John Wilson killed Representative Joseph J. Anthony in a knife fight on the House floor, during the first session of the state legislature.

Is the Old State House Museum free?

Yes. Admission is free. It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM.

When was the Old State House built?

Between 1833 and 1842. It was Arkansas’s capitol until the current State Capitol was completed in 1912, and became a museum in 1947.

Are there ghost tours of the Old State House?

The museum does not run ghost tours. Local walking tours and the visitor bureau’s self-guided haunted route include it as a stop.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the official website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and investigators tell them, and we say where records contradict a story.

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About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.