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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 Bartonville, Illinois, near the city of Peoria in Peoria County. The hospital grounds and its 47 buildings are listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. ==History== The hospital was founded as a result of the Illinois General Assembly's provision for the establishment of the Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane in 1895. In response to the legislation, then Governor John Altgeld appointed a three person commission charged with site selection.〔(Record Group 261.000-Peoria State Hospital ), Illinois State Archives.〕 The commission president was John Finely, a Peorian, and one of the members was J.J. McAndrews of Chicago who later served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Congressman.〔(History of Peoria State Hospital ), 1927, Alliance Library Systems, George A. Zeller Mental Health Center Professional Library.〕 The commission selected the site near Peoria, in Bartonville. 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: 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.〔(Bartonville State Hospital ), Historic Peoria, Cooperative Project: Bradley University and A5.com.〕 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.〔〔Leyland, Marilyn (Peoria Historical Society) (Peoria State Hospital: Bewitched, Bereft, Beloved ), ''arts alive!'', November 2004.〕 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.〔 On the hospital's 25th anniversary in 1927, the population was 2,650 with a total of 13,510 patients having entered the facility.〔 During this time, Dr. Zeller was widely respected for his focus on therepeutic efforts. Zeller crusaded for a better public understanding of the mentally ill including inviting newspaper reporters and community members to visit Peoria State.〔 From 1943 until 1969 the hospital participated in a departmental affiliation program for psychiatric nursing which provided instruction in psychiatric nursing to students from regional general hospital nursing schools.〔 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.〔 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.〔 After the hospital closed, the buildings stood empty and were auctioned off. When the initial auction buyer went bankrupt, developer, Winsley Durand, Jr., took over ownership with the hope of creating office space in the structures. His plan was never fully realized and the buildings remained empty. Since that time, many of the remaining structures have been demolished and others were renovated to house various commercial and industrial businesses. The Village of Bartonville has established the entire property as a TIF district to encourage further growth and development of the property. The Bowen, or administration, building is currently under the ownership of the "Save the Bowen Foundation," a group seeking to raise funds to renovate the exterior of the building.〔 Richard Weiss is the Executive Director of the Save The Bowen group to help save the historical property that is part of the Peoria State Hospital Historic District. The Save the Bowen Foundation is currently looking for investors to partner with the restoration of this building. Richard Weiss can be contacted through the peoria-asylum.com website. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Peoria State Hospital」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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