Peoria State Hospital

Peoria State Hospital was a state-operated psychiatric institution in Bartonville, Illinois, near Peoria. Established in response to an Illinois General Assembly provision of 1895, it was intended to house patients then classified by the state as incurable or chronically mentally ill. The institution began receiving patients on February 10, 1902, and remained in operation until its closure in 1973. The hospital developed under a cottage-plan model rather than relying solely on one large central structure. Construction began in the 1890s, and an initial castle-like main building was completed in 1897 but was never occupied. Accounts differ on the precise reason for abandoning that structure: later historical descriptions associated the decision with structural problems linked to abandoned mine shafts, while a 1927 institutional history described the building as incompatible with contemporary approaches to patient care. The site was subsequently reorganized under the direction of Dr. Frederick Howard Wines and Dr. George Zeller into a distributed campus of cottages and support buildings. When operations began, the reconstructed complex contained 33 buildings serving patients, staff, utilities, and administration. The hospital changed names several times during its early history. It opened as the Illinois Hospital for the Incurable Insane, was known from 1907 to 1909 as the Illinois General Hospital for the Insane, and adopted the name Peoria State Hospital in 1909. Its public administration also changed. From 1917 to 1961 it was operated by the Illinois Department of Public Welfare; in 1961, responsibility passed to the newly created Illinois Department of Mental Health. Dr. George Zeller, superintendent during two periods from 1902 to 1913 and 1921 to 1935, became closely associated with the institution's therapeutic and public-education efforts. He promoted more humane understanding of mental illness and invited journalists and members of the public to visit the hospital. By its twenty-fifth anniversary in 1927, the institution reported a population of approximately 2,650 and a cumulative intake of 13,510 patients. At its peak in the 1950s, the population reached about 2,800. The hospital also operated a nursing school beginning in 1906 and participated from 1943 through 1969 in a psychiatric-nursing affiliation program for students from regional general hospitals. The institution's population declined substantially in the postwar decades. When closure was announced in 1972, the census had fallen to about 600 patients, and the hospital ceased operations in 1973. The property was auctioned, and a later owner, developer Winsley Durand Jr., hoped to convert the buildings into office space. That plan was not completed. A number of structures were demolished, while others were adapted for commercial and industrial use. The Village of Bartonville designated the property as a tax-increment-financing district to encourage redevelopment. The former hospital grounds and buildings are also known as the Peoria State Hospital Historic District. The campus originally contained 63 buildings, many arranged as residences and patient cottages. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By July 2019, only 12 of the original buildings were reported to remain, all occupied. The Bowen Building, which included the nurses' dormitory, college, and administration functions, was demolished in 2016. Local folklore surrounding the former hospital includes stories associated with a patient and burial-crew worker known as Manuel A. Bookbinder, or “Old Book,” and the so-called Graveyard Elm. Paranormal claims about the site were later featured in an investigation by The Atlantic Paranormal Society for the television program Ghost Hunters.

Illinois established the institutional basis for Peoria State Hospital through legislation enacted in 1895 providing for an Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane. Governor John Altgeld appointed a three-member site-selection commission. John Finely of Peoria served as its president, and J. J. McAndrews of Chicago was another member. The commission selected land near Peoria in what became Bartonville. Construction started in 1895. The first major building was completed in 1897, but it never became an operating patient facility. One explanation attributes its abandonment to structural concerns associated with abandoned mine shafts beneath the property. A different account, preserved in a 1927 history of the institution, characterized the building as a feudal-castle imitation that was unsuitable for modern psychiatric care and said it was replaced under the direction of Dr. Frederick Howard Wines, secretary of the State Board of Charities. The replacement campus followed the cottage system, an approach that distributed patients and services across multiple smaller buildings rather than concentrating the entire population in one monumental block. Reconstruction was completed in 1902 under Dr. George Zeller, with 33 buildings providing patient accommodation, housing for employees, a store, power generation, and shared utility functions. The Illinois Hospital for the Incurable Insane began operations on February 10, 1902, when patients described in contemporary administrative language as incurable were transferred from other Illinois institutions. The facility underwent several early name changes. Between 1907 and 1909 it was called the Illinois General Hospital for the Insane. In 1909 it became Peoria State Hospital. That year also brought an administrative reorganization in which the boards overseeing state charitable institutions were abolished and responsibility was placed under the Illinois Board of Administration. From 1917 until 1961, the institution was administered by the Illinois Department of Public Welfare. The creation of the Illinois Department of Mental Health in 1961 transferred responsibility to that agency. Zeller's leadership shaped the hospital's public identity. He served as superintendent from 1902 to 1913 and again from 1921 to 1935. Historical accounts describe him as emphasizing therapeutic work and public education rather than treating institutionalization as mere custodial confinement. He encouraged reporters and community members to visit the facility and sought to improve public understanding of mental illness. He later wrote Befriending the Bereft, a book drawing on experiences from his two periods at the hospital, including accounts that became part of local ghost lore. Education was another continuing function. A training school for nurses opened in 1906. From 1943 to 1969, the hospital participated in a departmental affiliation program that gave students from nearby general-hospital nursing schools instruction in psychiatric nursing. The institution's scale grew considerably: by its twenty-fifth anniversary in 1927, the hospital reported approximately 2,650 residents and a cumulative total of 13,510 admissions. The population reached about 2,800 in the 1950s. Changing psychiatric practice, public policy, and the broader movement away from large state institutions contributed to a sharp reduction in the hospital's population. By the time closure was announced in 1972, only about 600 patients remained. The hospital closed in 1973. Its buildings were subsequently sold at auction. The first purchaser went bankrupt, after which developer Winsley Durand Jr. acquired the property with plans to create office space. The proposed conversion was not fully realized, and many buildings remained vacant for a period. Over time, some structures were demolished and others were renovated for commercial and industrial occupancy. Bartonville established the property as a tax-increment-financing district to support further development. The surviving grounds and buildings constitute the Peoria State Hospital Historic District and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The original campus had 63 buildings, many arranged as cottages and residences. By July 1, 2019, only 12 were reported to remain, all occupied. The Bowen Building, formerly associated with the nurses' dormitory, nursing college, and administration, was demolished in 2016. The site's later cultural reputation has been influenced by local stories about apparitions and unexplained events. The best-known legend concerns Manuel A. Bookbinder, called “Old Book,” who reportedly worked with the hospital burial crew. According to the story, his form was seen near an elm tree after his funeral even though his body remained in the casket. The resulting “Graveyard Elm” legend was included in Zeller's writings and later paranormal-interest programming. The Atlantic Paranormal Society investigated the site for Ghost Hunters. These stories are part of the property's folklore and do not constitute documented evidence of paranormal activity.

• 2019

  Twelve original buildings reported standing

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  A site account reports that 12 of the original 63 buildings remain, with all surviving structures occupied.

• 2016

  Bowen Building demolished

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  The building associated with nursing education, staff housing, and administration is demolished.

• 1973

  Hospital closes

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  Operations end after a major decline in the resident population.

• 1961

  State mental-health department assumes responsibility

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  The newly created Illinois Department of Mental Health takes over administration from the Department of Public Welfare.

• 1927

  Twenty-fifth anniversary population recorded

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  The hospital reports approximately 2,650 residents and 13,510 cumulative admissions since opening.

• 1909

  Institution adopts the Peoria State Hospital name

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  After an earlier period as the Illinois General Hospital for the Insane, the facility becomes Peoria State Hospital.

• 1906

  Nursing school established

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  The institution opens a training school for nurses.

• 1902

  Hospital opens

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  The reconstructed cottage-plan campus begins operations on February 10, 1902, receiving transfers from other Illinois institutions.

• 1897

  Initial main building completed

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  A first major building is completed but is not put into service; later accounts cite structural concerns or incompatibility with modern care concepts.

• 1895

  Illinois authorizes an asylum near Peoria

  [1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  The Illinois General Assembly provides for an asylum for patients classified at the time as incurably insane, and a state commission selects a site near Bartonville.

A publicly operated Illinois psychiatric institution designed for long-term care, organized around an early twentieth-century cottage-campus model and later remembered for therapeutic reform, psychiatric nursing education, and historic architecture.

• Mental health services · 1902

  Psychiatric inpatient care

  The hospital's central function was long-term psychiatric institutional care for patients transferred from other Illinois facilities. Its service model reflected the period's state system, in which large public hospitals accommodated people considered chronically or incurably mentally ill. Care was delivered across a planned campus of patient cottages and related support buildings rather than exclusively in one central block.

• Education and training · 1906

  Psychiatric nursing education

  Peoria State Hospital operated a nurse-training school beginning in 1906. It later participated in an affiliation program, active from 1943 through 1969, that provided psychiatric-nursing instruction to students connected with regional general hospitals. This educational role extended the institution's work beyond residential care.

• Healthcare infrastructure · 1902

  Cottage-plan institutional campus

  The operating campus was organized as a distributed group of cottages and service buildings. The original 1902 arrangement contained 33 structures for patients, employees, utilities, administration, and everyday institutional functions. The broader historic district eventually encompassed 63 buildings and remains significant for illustrating early twentieth-century psychiatric-hospital planning.

• 1973

  Closure and post-hospital dispositionStrategy

  Background

  The patient census had declined from a peak of roughly 2,800 in the 1950s to about 600 when closure was announced in 1972.

  Action taken

  The state closed the hospital, auctioned the property, and ended its use as a psychiatric institution.

  Aftermath

  A proposed office conversion was not fully realized. Some buildings were demolished, others were reused commercially or industrially, and Bartonville later used tax-increment financing to encourage redevelopment.

  Source

• 1909

  Renaming as Peoria State HospitalOther

  Background

  The institution had operated under several names during its first years.

  Action taken

  The Illinois General Hospital for the Insane was renamed Peoria State Hospital.

  Aftermath

  The Peoria State Hospital name became the principal modern reference for the institution and its historic district.

  Source

• 1902

  Adoption of a cottage-plan campusStrategy

  Background

  The first major building was not used, and the institution was redesigned around a distributed campus model associated with contemporary ideas about psychiatric care.

  Action taken

  The state completed a 33-building cottage system serving patients, staff, utilities, and administration.

  Aftermath

  The cottage arrangement became the defining architectural and operational feature of the hospital and later contributed to the site's historic significance.

  Source

• 2016

  Bowen Building demolished[1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The Bowen Building, associated with nursing education, staff housing, and administration, was demolished by the Save the Bowen nonprofit organization in connection with repayment efforts for loans.

• 1973

  Peoria State Hospital closes after a long decline in patient census[1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The Bartonville psychiatric hospital ceased operations after the closure was announced in 1972 and the reported patient population had fallen to approximately 600.

• Former hospital grounds become a redevelopment district[1]Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The Village of Bartonville designated the former hospital property as a tax-increment-financing district to encourage commercial and industrial redevelopment of the surviving structures.

1. 1Peoria State Hospitalen.wikipedia.org