USA > Illinois > Illinois, historical and statistical, comprising the essential facts of its planting and growth as a province, county, territory, and state, Vol. II > Part 44
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CHAPTER LI.
State Institutions-Penal, Reformatory, Benevolent.
TN the early days of Illinois, the number of paupers was few, and their care was assumed by citizens to whom charity was at once a duty and a recreation. In Randolph County, for many years, the board of overseers of the poor was selected from such men as Judge Pope, Senator Kane, and Gov. Bond; and their entire duties consisted in the yearly farming out to the lowest bidder of an old man who was both poor and blind.
From this crude beginning has developed the present magnifi- cent system of State charity which, in respect of completeness, economy, and perfection of executive control, is not surpassed by that of any other state.
The substitution of imprisonment for public floggings, and the replacement of the rude log jail by a secure place of confine- ment for prisoners, were reforms of slow growth. The people were poor and opposed to taxation for any purpose, and when at length the frequent escapes of criminals had demonstrated the necessity of more secure places for their confinement, the question arose, how shall the funds for such an expenditure be secured? A happy solution of this problem was at length found. At the request of the legislature, congress ceded to the State some 40,000 acres of saline lands, and a considerable portion of the money derived from their sale was devoted to the purchase of a site and the erection of the necessary build- ings for the first State institution-the penitentiary at Alton- in 1827.
The sum originally set apart for this purpose, however, was found to be inadequate, so that in 1831 an additional $10,000 was appropriated from the state treasury. Two years later, the prison was completed and ready for occupancy.
It was a stone structure, containing twenty-four cells. Addi- tional buildings were erected as they were needed until 1857, when, the accommodations for convicts being found entirely inadequate, the legislature determined to erect a new peniten-
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ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
tiary at Joliet, the State purchasing for that purpose a tract of 72 19/100 acres of land adjoining the city. The plans drawn contemplated a house containing 1000 cells, which, it was thought, would accommodate 1100 convicts-this number was regarded as certainly sufficient to meet the needs of the State for many years. The estimated cost was $550,000. By July 24, 1860, work had so far progressed on the new building that it was ready to receive the last prisoners from Alton, who were sent thither on that date. In less than ten years, the limits of the capacity of the new building had been reached, and the amount appropriated for and actually expended on its construc- tion had reached the sum of $934,627. It was not completed until July 1, 1867, and the total cost was $1,075,000. It is admittedly a fine structure and compares favorably with build- ings erected for a like purpose in other and older common- wealths. Major R. W. McClaughry, who had filled the position of warden with marked efficiency for fourteen years, was suc- ceeded in 1888 by Hon. A. W. Berggren, who resigned in March, 1891, and was in turn succeeded by Hon. Henry D. Dement, ex-secretary of state.
Samuel H. Jones of Springfield has acted as one of the commissioners of this institution since 1876, the other two members, O. H. Wright of Boone, and Franz Amberg of Cook County, were succeeded, in 1889, by Charles Bent and A. S. Wright.
The increasing number of convicts so overcrowded the accom- modations at Joliet by 1877, that the thirtieth general assembly decided to provide for the erection of another penitentiary in the southern part of the State. The commissioners, John G. Fonda, Isaac Clements, and R. D. Lawrence, appointed to choose a site, had some difficulty in the selection of a place having all the requisites of the law, namely, convenience of access, elevation, drainage, never-failing water, and convenience to stone and timber. Finally, a site was chosen, near Chester, on the Mississippi River, containing 1221/2 acres, and $200,000 was appropriated for the purchase of ground and the erection of buildings in 1877, and $300,000 more in 1879. Work pro- gressed so rapidly that the warden was prepared to receive and care for 200 prisoners on March 21, 1878. The value of
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ORIGIN OF THE STATE INSTITUTIONS.
the property after the completion of the buildings in 1882 was estimated by the warden to be $594,424. At that time, 525 convicts were in the prison. The arrangement and construc- tion of the various buildings, their convenience and general appointments, are admirably deserving the high commenda- tions bestowed upon them by expert critics. The number of prisoners within its walls, at the date of the last report, was 740. John C. Salter was the first warden, and was succeeded in 1885 by G. M. Mitchell. The present commissioners are Joseph B. Messick, John J. Brown, and James A. Rose.
The disposition of the people of this State has always favored a just and humane treatment of the defective and dependent classes, as has been repeatedly manifested, when legislation with reference to these unfortunates has. been proposed. In conse- quence of the existence of two systems of county government, two different methods for the care of the poor by counties have been adopted. In the counties under county organization, the county-court has the charge of public paupers; while in counties under township organization that duty is laid upon the board of supervisors. Nearly every county in the State has its county- farm and almshouse, and the amount expended for the mainten- ance of these during the years 1887-8, was $813,767, while the expenditure for outdoor relief amounted to $679,139. Of these sums, $711,353, nearly one-half, was disbursed by Cook County alone.
Attention was early directed to the fact that a large percent- age of the dependent classes might possibly be regarded as proper subjects of educational if not reformatory influence. Many of them, it was hoped, might be reclaimed from pauperism and taught to be self-supporting citizens. Those regarded as preëminently adapted to such treatment were the deaf-mutes, the insane, and the feeble-minded. Orville H. Browning of Quincy, who had given the subject much thought, and whose interest therein had resulted in extended correspondence, besides many personal conferences with distin- guished specialists, was the first in this State to seek to commit Illinois to a policy of this character. As a member of the State senate, on January 2, 1839, he introduced a bill for "an act to establish the Illinois Asylum for the Education of the
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ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Deaf and Dumb." Judge Wm. Thomas, a senator from Morgan County, who approved of the object of the bill, proposed to Browning that the blank space left for naming a location should be filled by inserting the name of Jacksonville, which action would secure the support of the entire delegation from Morgan County, then the largest in the State. The advice was accepted and the bill became a law February 23, 1839. The first board of trustees was organized on June 29 following, with ex-Governor Joseph Duncan as president and Judge Samuel D. Lockwood as vice-president. Judge Thomas served as a member of the board for many years. Arrangements to begin building by the trustees, numbering twenty distinguished citizens, were not completed until April, 1842. Work, however, had progressed sufficiently to permit of the opening of the school on Janu- ary 26, 1846. The original building, afterward known as the south wing, was finally completed in 1849, at a cost of $25,000. In 1871, it was declared unsafe, and was consequently torn down and rebuilt. The centre building, begun in 1849, was completed in 1852, but the front walls, having been found unsafe by the architects, were also razed and new ones erected. Work on the north wing was commenced in 1853, and it was completed in 1857; a new dining-room and boiler-house were erected in 1873, and a new school-house in 1876.
Farther appropriations have been made as follows: in 1877, $15,000 for workshops; in 1879, $2,000 to convert barn into a cottage for small boys; in 1881, $12,300 for barn, bakery, store- house, filter, and fire-escapes; in 1883, $11,000 for employés' quarters, kitchen, and refrigerator-house; in 1885, $12,000 for dairy, barn, and gymnasium; in 1887, $8,000 for cottage for little girls; in 1889, $10,000 for extension and improvement of grounds.
Thomas Officer of Ohio, was the first principal of the institu- tion. Four pupils were present at its opening, and nine at the close of the first term. Under the efficient management of the accomplished principal, the attendance rapidly increased and the aid of several assistant-teachers was soon found indispen- sable. Mr. Officer resigned his position as principal in 1856, and was succeeded by Dr. Philip G. Gillett, a graduate of Asbury University, and for some years a teacher in the Indiana Institu-
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THE DEAF AND DUMB.
tion for the deaf and dumb. No better encomium upon the eminent fitness of Dr. Gillett for this responsible post can be pronounced than the statement of the fact that for thirty-five years he has steadily grown in favor with the citizens of Illinois, not only with those of philanthropic inclination but the hard- headed taxpayers as well. Through all the rancorous animosities engendered by the civil war, amid all the vicissitudes of executive administrations, he has stood unmoved, with an eye fixed singly upon the faithful discharge of his responsible duties.
Under his able and judicious management, the institution has grown to be the largest of its kind in the world. It has educated and trained into useful citizenship more than 2000 persons, who, without its privileges, would have been a burden to themselves and to society. It has furnished principals for 12 other schools, and teachers by the score. Among its many worthy teachers and officers, faithful coadjutors of the superin- tendent in his labors, there are a few whose connection with the institution has continued for over a quarter of a century, and may be named. These are Selah Wait, dying after a service of 33 years; Cornelia Trask, a martyr to her zeal in the work, prolonged through 25 years; Frank Hine, efficient clerk for 29 years; Marquis L. Brock, 27 years; Frank Read, 28 years; and Prof. John H. Woods, 28 years; the latter of whom, in addition to his school-duties, has had charge of the institution's library, one of the most carefully selected in the State.
The number of pupils in 1888 was 476, and the cost per capita for that year, $236.22.
The establishment of the Central Hospital for the Insane, at Jacksonville in 1849, was largely, if not chiefly, due to the phil- anthropic efforts of Miss Dorothea L. Dix. In 1846, she felt impelled to travel over the State addressing the charitable in behalf of a class of unfortunates, whose pitiable condition appeals, perhaps, most strongly to public sympathy. When the legislature convened, she visited Springfield and made before the members a most eloquent argument in favor of the establishment of a hospital for their care. A bill for this purpose, locating the institution at Peoria was introduced and passed in the senate, but on motion of Judge William Thomas, then in the house, it was amended by the substitution of Jacksonville for Peoria.
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ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The bill, as amended, became a law on March 1, 1847. Judge Samuel Drake Lockwood was president of the first board of trustees. A quarter-section of beautiful prairie-land, a mile south of Jacksonville, was selected as the site. A plan for a building, which in its general features was copied after that of the Indiana Asylum, was adopted, and the work begun in 1848. Only two wards were completed for occupancy by 1851, and on November 3 of that year, the first patient was received.
As originally constructed, this institution consisted of a centre building of brick, five and one-half stories in height, besides two wings, of the same material, containing nine wards each, four stories high, and a rear building with chapel, kitchen, and apartments for employés.
The legislature made an appropriation of $75,000, in 1877, for the extension of the original wings, thus making provision for 150 additional patients. In 1883, it appropriated $135,000 for a separate building with a capacity of 300 patients. In 1889, it made a further appropriation of $120,000 for another detached building of the same capacity as the last. The pres- ent capacity of the hospital is 1, 100 beds. The last addition is not yet-April, 1891-completed and occupied. The average number of patients in 1890 was 900, with a net per-capita cost of $149.23.
Dr. J. M. Higgins was selected as the first superintendent, after a somewhat heated contest. The first administration of the institution was far from being satisfactory, either to those directly interested or to the people generally. Dr. Higgins was removed by the board of trustees, and, pending the appoint- ment of his successor, Dr. Hiram K. Jones acted as superin- tendent ad interim. Dr. Andrew McFarland, from the New- Hampshire Asylum for the Insane, was appointed superin- tendent and entered upon the discharge of his duties in June, 1854. The eminent qualifications of Dr. McFarland for this position were early made apparent in his able management and supervision. The institution grew and prospered, the superin- tendent and trustees being in entire accord until 1867, when, at the demand of a former inmate, Mrs. E. P. W. Packard, an investigation of its management was ordered by the legislature. The charges preferred were extravagance in expenditure and
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THE INSANE AND BLIND.
the detention of patients not insane. The management was entirely exonerated, yet the committee took occasion to criticise the system of admitting patients, and also to animadvert upon the treatment of the inmates by some of the attendants. No concurrent action upon the report followed, and the new board of trustees, appointed by Governor John M. Palmer, retained Dr. Mc Farland in his office until he felt compelled to resign on account of ill health in 1870 .* Dr. Henry F. Carriel, who had been for many years connected with the New-Jersey Asylum, was selected to succeed Dr. Mc Farland, and assumed charge of the institution July 6, 1870. His long and successful admin- istration, which has continued up to the present time, and has covered a period embracing many improvements and not a few radical reforms, has demonstrated the fact that no better choice could have been made. His supervision has been wise, con- servative, and entirely satisfactory to the people.
The third of the State institutions to be erected, that for the education of the blind, also originated and was located at Jacksonville. In 1847, Samuel Bacon, himself a blind man, opened a school in that town for those similarly afflicted. It was at first supported by private subscriptions, with a view to the ultimate establishment of a school of like character by the State. A bill for this purpose was introduced in the house of representatives by Richard Yates, entitled "an act to establish the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Blind," which became a law January 13, 1849. The board of trustees, with Judge Lockwood as president and Judge James Berdan as secretary, was organized Feb. 3. The school was opened soon after in a rented house, with Mr. Bacon as temporary executive. A site of twenty-two acres was purchased, about a mile east of the public square, and the new building was completed and ready for use in January, 1854. After having served its purpose for fifteen years, it was destroyed by fire, April 20, 1869. Plans for the wing of a new building, 72 feet square and three stories in height, were at once prepared, and the structure erected in 1871-2, at a cost of $34,069. The entire building was com- pleted in 1874, at an outlay of $75,000.
* Dr. McFarland subsequently established the Oak-Lawn Retreat for the Insane, at Jacksonville, which, under his management, has become a very popular and successful institution.
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ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
In 1881, an appropriation of $33,000 was made for the con- struction of the east wing, and of $12,000 for a barn, coal-house, and shops. In 1889, the general assembly authorized the erec- tion of a cottage for girls, to cost $18,000.
Joshua Rhoads, M.D., who had formerly been at the head of the Pennsylvania Institution for the Blind, was appointed superintendent in 1850, and continued to fill the position until June, 1874, when he was succeeded by Rev. F. W. Phillips, D.D., who discharged the duties with great fidelity up to the time of his death in January, 1888. His administration is characterised by the board of state charities as "wise and care- ful." His son, W. S. Phillips, who was appointed his successor, held the position two years, and was succeeded by Frank H. Hall, July 1, 1890.
The average number of scholars is about 150, and their cost per capita in 1888, $241.02, being a reduction of nearly 100 per cent since 1875.
The Institution for Feeble-Minded Children, next in chrono- logical order of erection, was an outgrowth of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and, as at first established in Jacksonville, was denominated by the act of incorporation, "the experimental school for the instruction and training of idiots and feeble- minded children." In 1871, the institution was placed upon an independent and permanent footing, and, in 1875, the legislature appropriated $185,000 for erecting the necessary buildings and placing it in running order. A new site, covering 40 acres, was selected, and the location transferred to Lincoln, and in October, 1875, the contract providing for the erection of the main and rear buildings, with wings, besides a boiler-and-engine house, was let for $124,775. The centre building was to be three stories in height, the connecting wings two, the extreme wings three; the entire length, 324 feet, and designed to accommodate 250 pupils.
Subsequent appropriations have been made for the benefit of this institution, as follows: in 1877, for furnishing the new asylum $25,000; $4,000, the same year, for the purchase of 20 additional acres of land; in 1881, $8,500 for finishing and furnishing the basement, building a laundry, and constructing fire-escapes; in 1885, $6,000 for the purchase of 38 acres of land, and $5,000
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THE FEEBLE-MINDED.
for a hospital; and, in 1889, $40,000 for a detached building for the care of custodial cases.
Dr. Charles T. Wilbur, who had been employed successfully in a similar institution at Syracuse, New York, was appointed superintendent in the first instance and entered upon the dis- charge of his duties in October, 1865. Dr. Wilbur proved to be a capable and efficient officer, and continued in the manage- ment of the institution until his resignation in October, 1883 .* His successor was Dr. William B. Fish, who still, 1891, occupies the position.
In. 1888, the average number of inmates was 386, and the ordinary expenses of the institution, for the same year, were $46,245, the per capita cost being $119.
The next State institution to be built was the Illinois Home for the Children of Deceased Soldiers, the charter of which was passed by the legislature in 1865. The location was to be determined upon by what may be called the donation plan, and in consideration of offers amounting nominally to $40,220, an 80-acre tract of land, one mile north of Normal, was selected as the site. The principal building was completed and occupied June 1, 1869, at a cost of $135,000.
In 1881, the legislature made a grant of $5,000 for a hospital building; in 1889, it provided for the reconstruction of the rear building for domestic uses, and the erection of a new kitchen, dining-room, and chapel, at a cost of $66,000.
Mrs. Virginia C. Ohr, a soldier's widow, was appointed super- intendent, and, pending the erection of the first buildings, temporary homes were opened in Bloomington. Mrs. Ohr was succeeded in 1887 by H. C. De Motte, Ph. D.
In 1875, the law was so amended as to permit the admission of children of soldiers who have since died, on the same footing as the orphans of those who had fallen or died of disease during the war. In the language used by the trustees in their report of 1876: "The home originated in a most patriotic impulse on the part of the people, to fulfill the pledge made to the gallant soldiers who imperilled their lives on the field of battle during the dark days of the civil war, that if they fell in the fight the
* He has since established a school of like character in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which is in successful operation.
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ILLINOIS-HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
widows and children should be cared for." The pledge has been faithfully kept, and it is expected by the board that at some future time, when the original object has been fully carried out, the institution will care for other neglected and depend- ent children as wisely and as well as it has for the soldiers' orphans.
The house is now said to be overcrowded, the average attend- ance being in 1888, 359; the average cost per capita, during the same year was $144.
By the year 1869, the necessity for further provision for the care of the insane had become so apparent, that the general assembly provided for the erection of two additional buildings for that purpose to be known, respectively, as the Northern and Southern Hospitals for the Insane. Both acts became laws by the signature of the governor, on the same day, April 10, 1869.
For the site of the Northern Hospital, 153 acres were donated by the citizens of Elgin, and the institution was located just outside that city on the west bank of the Fox River; 130 addi- tional acres were purchased by the trustees in 1870, and 194 more in 1871, at $100 per acre. The plans for the construction of this hospital, modelled after the government hospital for the insane at Washington, were adopted December, 1869, and the contract was let in April, 1870. The north wing and rear build- ings were completed January, 1872, and 61 patients received soon after. The central building was completed in April following, and the south wing in 1874. The entire amount expended for land, construction, heating and all other fixtures and furniture up to September, 1876, was $639,357.
Besides other minor improvements, appropriations for this hospital have since been made as follows: about $20,000, in 1877, for cottages and lodges, a new boiler-house, refrigerating- house, straw-barn, and cisterns; more than $50,000, in 1881 and 1883, for the betterment of the heating and ventilation; about $30,000 in 1885 and 1887, for additional fire protection; and, in 1889, $120,000 for a detached building to accommodate 300 patients.
Provision was made in the act of incorporation for the care of incurable patients in this hospital. The average number of
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INSANE HOSPITALS.
all inmates for the year 1888 was 527, and the amount expended for ordinary expenses was $89,877 or $168 per capita.
Dr. E. A. Kilbourne was elected superintendent in September, 1871; died Feb. 27, 1890. He was succeeded by Dr. Henry T. Brooks, the present superintendent.
The Southern Hospital was located at Anna, on a farm con- taining 290 acres and costing $22,206, of which sum the citizens of Union County donated one-fourth. Although plans for a building resembling that of the Danville, Pennsylvania, hospital, were approved as early as 1869; construction, owing to difficul- ties with contractors, proceeded much more slowly than at Elgin. The north wing was not completed until March, 1875, and other portions of the building in 1875-6.
The total amount of the appropriations for the completion and fittings of the institution up to September, 1876, was $634,800.
The principal appropriations made for this institution since 1876 have been: in 1881, $106,000 for rebuilding the wing destroyed that year by fire, erecting temporary wooden barracks for the care of male patients, and other repairs rendered neces- sary by the fire; in 1883, $6,400 for the purchase of 160 acres of land, $22,000 for an addition to the north wing, $6,000 for the conversion of the barracks into a permanent ward for the worst class of cases, and $15,500 for improving the water supply; in 1889, $10,000 for a new laundry, and $120,000 for a detached building to accommodate 300 patients.
The average number of inmates in 1888, was 630, and the ordinary expenses of their maintenance $108,042 or $149 per capita.
Dr. A. T. Barnes of Centralia was the first superintendent, and the hospital was opened for the reception of patients, Dec. 15, 1873. Dr. Barnes was succeeded by Dr. Horace Wardner, who resigned in October, 1889, and was succeeded by Dr. E. B. Elrod, January 1, 1890.
Upon the report of a legislative committee of inquiry that the number of insane had again outrun the provisions available for their care, the thirtieth general assembly, in 1877, passed an act for the erection of another institution to be denominated the Eastern Hospital for the Insane. From the many sites offered
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