History & local legend
A portrait of the Reverend John McMillan, one of Washington & Jefferson College’s founders, was once at the center of a ghost story in Mellon Hall on the Washington campus. The college’s account places the encounter in the early 1980s, when two young men were studying in the building.
An older man in unfamiliar, old-fashioned clothing appeared in their doorway. They spoke to him, but he gave no reply and walked into an adjoining room. One of the students followed. The man had vanished, yet a portrait above the fireplace showed the face the student had just seen.
It was McMillan’s portrait. In the college’s telling, he continued to watch over students in Mellon Hall until a fire destroyed the painting in 1984.
Sources
- Washington & Jefferson Magazine, Spring 2015, page 17, stories collected by the college
- Public text version of the college magazine, “We heard it through the grapevine”
- Washington & Jefferson College campus map, Mellon Hall
- Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, college building preservation plan
- OpenStreetMap, Mellon Residence Hall building