Daisy's original tombstone (above) was destroyed. The base now rests at the rear of the Sweet Briar Museum. The cherub is long gone, but much of the inscription remains. The tall, impressive 'screaming statue' of Monument Hill (left) replaced the original tombstone. When the wind blows, is that Daisy's voice being heard? Photos from SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE

- Photos from SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE

Daisy Williams is pictured in 1876, about eight years before her death at age 16. Sweet Briar College was founded in her honor by her mother, Indiana Fletcher Williams. Some say Daisy still makes her presence known on campus. Photos from SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE

Sweet Briar House, now the residence of the college's president, has many of the furnishings from when the Williams' family resided there, including Daisy's bedroom furniture. Her room was in the top of the tower to the left as you face the house.

A teenage ghost named Daisy joins in with the fun at Sweet Briar College. By Donna Chasen

Date published: 10/22/2005

S WEET BRIAR COLLEGE sits in the gently rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains just south of the small town of Amherst in the Virginia county of the same name. The campus setting is serenely beautiful, with 3,250 rolling acres of meadows and small hills. The academic village sits in the center of this pastoral landscape.

Sweet Briar was founded as a girls' school and remains so today. Every fall, young students enter its gates to enjoy the exquisitely unique collegiate experience that Sweet Briar has to offer. Some bring their horses with them, to be housed in an elegant stable complex. Sweet Briar is home not only to its student body, but also to many staff members and approximately half of its faculty. The campus is crisscrossed with walking, hiking and riding trails.

As the grounds were once the setting of an extensive working plantation in the 18th and 19th centuries, history and archaeology students enjoy a rich cornucopia of opportunities for a hands-on study experience.

The majority of Sweet Briar's buildings were designed in the early 20th century--predominately by Ralph Adams Cram, whose work is also present at the University of Richmond, MIT, West Point, Princeton and many other notable colleges and universities. Over two-thirds of Sweet Briar's buildings have been designated the Sweet Briar College National Historic District and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

This icon of higher education was founded in 1901 as a condition of the legacy of Indiana Fletcher Williams. Williams wished that her plantation and her entire estate become an institute of higher learning for female students in honor and memory of her only child, her daughter Daisy, who died of antitrypsin deficiency, an inherited enzymatic disorder that is easily treatable today. Daisy passed away in New York at the age of 16 in 1884. She was returned to her beloved Sweet Briar to be buried in the family graveyard on Monument Hill in January of 1884.

Williams' bequest was formidable, as her estate consisted of over $1 million and over 8,000 acres of land, including the Sweet Briar Plantation. Sweet Briar College was established per the wishes of its benefactor to maintain the highest standards of education to--in the words of its founder--prepare young women "to be useful members of society."

It is in this peaceful, serene setting that the legends of the Ghosts of Sweet Briar originated. The most visual evidence is the "screaming statue"--a sculpture standing high over the family cemetery on Monument Hill (there is also a recently discovered slave cemetery on the grounds, as well). The statue's hand is carved in such a way that, when the wind passes through it, it emits a high-pitched whistle some describe as a "scream."

Each year, a Ghost Walk is held at Sweet Briar College. These light- hearted walking tours highlight the college's history, while incorporating numerous incidents and "haunted happenings" around the Sweet Briar campus and its many buildings. This year, the Ghost Walks will be held at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, through Monday, Oct. 31. The cost is $5 for the public and free for Sweet Briar College students, staff and faculty. The tour lasts about 45 minutes and begins at the Sweet Briar Museum, where quite a large number of personal items and household furnishings of Daisy and her family are on display. The tour continues on to Sweet Briar House (the original family plantation home) and its grounds and ends at the "haunted" Browsing Room at Mary Cochran Library, where hot cider and cookies will be served to the group. Sweet Briar is located on U.S. 29 in Amherst County, south of Charlottesville and at the southern end of the little town of Amherst. It's about a 120-mile drive from Fredericksburg.

Date published: 10/22/2005