Peoria State Hospital
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2011) |
Peoria State Hospital | |
Classical Revival, Georgian Revival | |
NRHP reference No. | 82002590[1] |
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Added to NRHP | February 17, 1982 |
Peoria State Hospital Historic District, also known as Bartonville State Hospital or Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane, was a psychiatric hospital operated by the State of Illinois from 1902 to 1973. The hospital is located in
History
The hospital was founded as a result of the
Construction at the site started in 1895 with the main building completed in 1897. This building was never used, however, as its structural integrity was compromised by abandoned mine shafts on the property. The 1927 history of the hospital, however, gives a different explanation for its abandonment:
"The first building erected was a facsimile of a feudal castle, but before it was occupied it was found to be wholly out of harmony with modern ideas for the care of the insane and it was razed and replaced by the present cottage plan, under the direction of Dr. Frederick Howard Wines, the able secretary of the State Board of Charities."[4]
In 1902, reconstruction was completed under the direction of Dr. George Zeller as a cottage system plan of 33 buildings . Among the buildings were patient and caretaker housing, a store, a power station, and a communal utility building.[5]
The Illinois Hospital for the Incurable Insane began operations on February 10, 1902 and patients characterized as "incurable" were transferred to Bartonville from other Illinois facilities. In 1906 the hospital opened a training school for nurses. From 1907 to 1909 the facility was known as the Illinois General Hospital for the Insane and, in 1909, Peoria State Hospital.[3][6] This same year, the offices of Board of Commissioners and Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities were abolished and all state-run charitable institutions were administered by the Board of Administration.[clarification needed][3]
On the hospital's 25th anniversary in 1927, the population was 2,650 with a total of 13,510 patients having entered the facility.
From 1917 until 1961 the hospital was operated by the Illinois Department of Public Welfare. In 1961 the Department of Mental Health was created and assumed responsibility of the institution.[3]
At its peak in the 1950s, Bartonville housed 2,800 patients. By 1972 when its closure was announced, the patient census had dropped to 600.
The Bowen building, the nurses' dorm and college and administration building, was demolished in 2016 by the save the Bowen NFP to repay loans. Unfortunately, the loans remain unpaid to the Village of Bartonville.
Architecture
The grounds consisted of 63 buildings, many of which are residential in nature and laid out to the traditional cottage plan, common for mental hospitals built in the early 20th century.[2] The original main building constructed was on the Kirkbride Plan.[7] There are only 12 of the 63 buildings left standing as of July 1, 2019. All are currently occupied.
Ghost stories
The hospital grounds are the subject of local ghost lore. One well documented legend tells of Manuel A. Bookbinder "
In the 1920s, Zeller penned a book titled, Befriending The Bereft, drawn from the mysterious experiences he had at the hospital during his two tenures as superintendent, 1902–1913 and 1921–1935. Included, among numerous other eerie stories, were Zeller's own account of Old Book and the Graveyard Elm.[6]
The paranormal claims of Peoria State Hospital were investigated by The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) in the TV show Ghost Hunters.[8]
Notes
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Peoria State Hospital", (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, HAARGIS Database. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Record Group 261.000-Peoria State Hospital Archived 2006-05-16 at the Wayback Machine, Illinois State Archives.
- ^ a b c History of Peoria State Hospital, 1927, Alliance Library Systems, George A. Zeller Mental Health Center Professional Library. Archived October 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Bartonville State Hospital, Historic Peoria, Cooperative Project: Bradley University and A5.com. Archived November 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d Leyland, Marilyn (Peoria Historical Society) Peoria State Hospital: Bewitched, Bereft, Beloved, arts alive!, November 2004. Archived September 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ISSN 0022-5045.
- ^ "'Ghost Hunters' investigates Peoria Asylum". Chicago Tribune. January 30, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
External links
- Peoria (Bartonville) State Hospital at the Legends and Lore of Illinois
- Bartonville Insane Asylum Archived 2006-11-13 at the Wayback Machine: at Prairie Ghosts.[1]
- Befriending the Bereft, Autobiography of George Zeller.