The Batavia Institute (currently recognized name) also known as Bellevue Place Sanitarium is a Registered Historic Place in Batavia, Illinois, US.
Batavia Institute | |
_01.JPG) | |
| Location | Batavia, Kane County, Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°50′40.49″N 88°18′58.6″W / 41.8445806°N 88.316278°W |
| Built | 1853 |
| Architect | Town, Elijah Shumway |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000712 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | August 13, 1976 |
Batavia Institute
editBatavia Institute, a private academy, was chartered on 12 February 1853 by 13 men, including Rev. Stephen Peet, the Congregational minister, Elijah Shumway Town, Joel McKee, John Van Nortwick, Dennison K. Town, who settled in Batavia in 1839 as its first physician, and Isaac G. Wilson.[2]
The original building, which still stands in Batavia at 333 South Jefferson Street, at Union Avenue, was constructed in 1853–1854 of locally quarried limestone at a cost of $20,000. The architect Elijah Shumway Town designed the building in a Greek Revival style.[3]
Proposed Normal School
editBids were opened by the State Board of Education in Peoria on 7 May 1857. The first proposition on the agenda was from Batavia, which offered a subscription of $15,000, with the land and building belonging to the Batavia Institute, valued at $30,000, making $45,000 in all. Washington, in Tazewell County, Bloomington, and Peoria submitted proposals, as well.[4][5]
Mary Todd Lincoln's Stay
editIn 1875, following the death of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, ten years later, Mary Todd Lincoln was committed to Bellevue Place Sanitarium, formerly known as the Batavia Institute. A Chicago court deemed that Mrs. Lincoln behaved "irrationally" and ordered her to be placed in a mental hospital. [6] Mrs. Lincoln stayed for less than four months at the Bellevue Place prior to being released to her sister, Elizabeth where she assumed her care in Springfield.
Modern Day Status
editIn the 1960s, the building was converted to a residential facility for unwed mothers named the 'Fox Hill Home', which operated until the 1970s. In the mid 80s, the building was once again named Bellevue Place and converted into apartments which are lived in as of today. The building is not publicly accessible. [7]
National Register of Historic Places
editThe building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 13 August 1976.[3]
Notes
edit- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ Batavia Institute: Charter (12 February 1853). The original, handwritten charter is now in the Archives at Beloit College in Wisconsin.
- ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form" (PDF). HAARGIS Database. Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
- ^ Proceedings of the [Illinois] Board of Education (Peoria), May 7, 1857.
- ^ Marshall, Helen E. Grandest of Enterprises: Illinois State University, 1857–1957. Normal, Ill.: Illinois State University, 1956, pp. 22–23
- ^ "Mary Todd Lincoln". Batavia Historical Society. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
- ^ "Batavia Institute / Bellevue Place, 1853". www.enjoyaurora.com. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
