Sophronia Marrs Strong was the mother of Benjamin Rush Strong, whose will provided in 1915 that his sizable gift to the university would be used in part to build a women’s residence hall to be named for his mother. Born in 1817 in Shelbyville, Sophronia married Dr. Joseph C. Strong, a Knoxville physician, at the age of 16. She had 12 children and died in 1867 at the age of 50.
Having taken care of so many of her own children, the opening of Sophronia Strong Hall in 1925 apparently provided a new venue for caretaking of young people. The first sighting of the ghost was reported soon after the opening: this residence hall had full-length mirrors in each occupant’s room, and “Sophie” was seen in the mirror standing behind one of the new residents as she brushed her hair. She continued to appear in mirrors on her birthday, February 17, as a lady dressed in white. She is credited with mischievous pranks, such as locking students out of their rooms, locking bathroom doors, and being the source of eerie lights that appeared out of nowhere and floated down hallways. She is mostly credited, however, with appearing when there was trouble or heated discussion, looking disapprovingly at those whose voices were raised.
In an October 31, 1988, article in the Daily Beacon, Jackie Reinert, a junior in agricultural business, related that in August, the day before the dorms opened, she was working the desk of Strong Hall. About 3:00 a.m. she looked up and saw Sophronia in the mirror, moving through the lobby, sort of dancing. Reinert decided to follow the apparition and found the lobby very cool, despite the heat of the August night. The Strong Hall staff called in Pat Sisson, a psychic from Halls, who said she felt that the ghost of Sophronia Strong did inhabit the building. While Sisson was talking about the ghost, the lights in the back of the room went out and the ones in the front of the room dimmed. When Sisson said, “I hope that’s a sign that she approves,” all the lights in the room blinked back on full strength.
Senior in psychology and global studies Will Robinson convinced housing officials to allow researchers (ghost hunters) from the East Tennessee Paranormal Research Society to spend the night in the lobby of Sophronia Strong Hall on the evening of her birthday in 2008. The ghost hunters arrived with infrared cameras, digital recorders, and laser thermometers. They set up cameras in the lobby, facing the mirror in which Sophie was reputed to appear, toured the building, and set up cameras at the bottom of the two original staircases. During the night there were problems with the elevators, and the laser thermometers showed unusually high readings. Sophronia Strong’s picture, for example, was 20 degrees hotter than the room. Some “particles” were caught by the video cameras, but it was inconclusive whether they were dust or something from the spirit world. Two videos of pulses of light, called “orbs” thought to be spiritual energy, were captured in the stairwell. No image appeared in the mirror. The paranormal group was convinced that ghosts were present.
Sophronia Strong Hall was taken out of service as a residence hall in 2008 and closed in 2011 with the closing of the cafeteria, Sophie’s Place, to allow conversion of the facility to an academic science building.