Ashton Villa Mansion is an immense, 3 story, palace-like masterpiece, built by a proud, wealthy hardware businessman, James Brown, who believed in showing his wealth, right before the Civil War. This royal residence, fit for royalty, took 4 years to build, from 1861 to 1865. The showplace of this glorious Italianate Villa was and is the ornate, formal living room, called The Gold Room, located near an alcove, within the spacious every day living room. There is a grand, center stairway that connects the floors, with the customary landings on each floor.

Lovely antiques, family heirlooms and original art fill this stately mansion built before the Civil War by James Moreau Brown, one of Texas’ wealthiest businessmen, and presided over by his colorful daughter, Miss Bettie Brown. It is constructed of brick and cast iron, which helped make it one of the very few homes to survive the Great Storm of 1900 that killed 6,000 people and led to the island's virtual abandonment. Interestingly enough, during the 1900 Hurricane, the Browns opened the front door of the mansion and allowed the flood waters to flow all the way through the home exiting out the back door so that the home would not be pushed by the waters and possibly damaged.

One of the youngest daughters of the Browns sat on the main staircase that faces the front door and the water was as high as the 10th step up flowing through the home like a river. Apparently the daughter just sat there and watched the flowing water with much fascination!

Ashton Villa is often called the "most haunted building in America." The ghost of Bettie Brown has been seen standing in the Gold Room, standing at the top of the staircase, and heard playing the piano at one of her famous music recitals. People on tours have reported feeling a presence joining them on the tour. A chest of drawers purchased in the Middle East stands in Bettie Brown's dayroom. It reportedly locks and unlocks spontaneously even though the key has been missing for years. Ceiling fans have been known to turn themselves on. One bed refuses to stay made. No matter how many times a day the sheets are straightened, they end up rumpled anyway. The dayroom, incidentally, was the only room where Bettie could go without wearing her “stays” and she apparently spent a lot of her time there. The top of the staircase where Bettie's ghost has been seen leads to the dayroom.

However Bettie Brown isn't the only ghost to haunt Ashton Villa. During the civil war Ashton Villa was used as a hospital for Confederate soldiers. There are rumors of marching soldiers moving through the house and on the grounds of the large home.

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