O'Neal House

The O’Neal house was reputably the only Rollins fraternity house bought by the group itself. The land was purchased on August 10, 1921 by the local fraternity Phi Alpha. In 1927, the group joined forces with a national fraternity and became the Kappa Alpha Order.

The construction of O'Neal House

After the fraternity moved into the newly constructed Rex Beach Hall, the house was deeded to Rollins College in 1957. It was at this time that the name of the building was changed to honor William R. O’Neal (’27H), who served Rollins from 1888 to 1946 as auditor, treasurer, and member of the Board of Trustees. The building was used as a girl’s dormitory for one year until the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity gained enough members to have their own house on campus.

It remained the house for Tau Kappa Epsilon until its demolition in 1974 to make way for the new Keene Music Hall. Rectangular in shape with columns on the front and a small staircase leading to the main entrance, the O’Neal house was a simple brick structure that had a very early collegiate appearance.

Demolition of O'Neal House