Head 2 Head: Pemberton Hall vs. Peoria State Hospital

December 24, 2012 By 1 Comment

Pemberton Hall vs. Peoria State HospitalLocations: Pemberton Hall in Charleston versus Peoria State Hospital in Bartonville.

Histories: Pemberton Hall is the oldest all-female dormitory in the state of Illinois and was the brainchild of Livingston C. Lord, president of Eastern Illinois University from 1899 to 1933. The old-English look and feel of the dormitory was well suited for its first full time matron, Mary Hawkins, who emigrated from Great Britain in 1901 and assumed the position of dorm director in August 1910, when she was 33 years old. Mary died in 1918.

Peoria State Hospital began in 1885 as Bartonville State Hospital. No patients were ever housed or treated in that building, however, and it was torn down in 1897. The institution was rebuilt and reopened in 1902 with a new name and a new superintendent. Now called Peoria State Hospital, a progressive physician named Dr. George A. Zeller took over the facility and instituted new, more humane treatments for mental illness. During his tenure there, he recorded many stories of daily life at the hospital.

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Head 2 Head: Harrison Cemetery vs. Hotel Baker

November 26, 2012 By 1 Comment

Harrison Cemetery vs. Baker HotelLocations: Harrison Cemetery in Buckner versus Hotel Baker in St. Charles.

Histories: Harrison Cemetery is one of the oldest graveyards in Franklin County. Although not officially chartered until 1907, it has served area residents for over 120 years and is named after one of the first families to settle Browning Township. The historic Hotel Baker opened on June 2, 1928 and quickly became the toast of the town. It was called the “honeymoon hotel” for its reputation as a getaway and its beautiful riverfront view and garden.

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Head 2 Head: Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery vs. McPike Mansion

October 22, 2012 By 2 Comments

Bachelor's Grove Cemetery vs. McPike MansionLocations: Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery in Midlothian versus McPike Mansion in Alton.

Histories: Bachelor’s Grove has been a south side enigma for over three decades and is one of the most famous haunted cemeteries in America. Some say it was named after a group of single men who settled in the area around the 1830s, but a family named Batchelder already owned the land. In the early half of the twentieth century, the Midlothian Turnpike ran past the cemetery, over the stream, and beyond.  Today, the broken road appears to end at the cemetery gates. The road was closed in the 1960s. The body of a teenage girl was found in the woods in 1966, and in 1988 a man, who had been murdered by a former girlfriend, was found in the cemetery.

Built in 1869 by Henry Guest McPike and designed in the Italianate-Victorian style, the McPike Mansion has long captured the imaginations of Alton residents. Although it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, it has sat abandoned for decades — attracting vandals and the curious alike. Today, the mansion is a favorite stop on local tours.

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Head 2 Head: Fox Run vs. Lakey’s Creek

September 24, 2012 By 2 Comments

Fox Run vs. LakeyCreekLocations: Fox Run Subdivision in Geneva versus Lakey’s Creek in McLeansboro.

Histories: The Fox Run Subdivision was built over the former site of the Illinois State Training School for Girls, which operated between 1893 and 1978. The purpose of the “school” was to rehabilitate juvenile girls who had been convicted of a crime in the Illinois court system. Inevitably, deaths from illness and suicide occurred at the facility over the course of its 85 years in operation. Girls without families, or who had been disowned, were buried in a cemetery on the property. Several infants were buried there as well, and today the cemetery contains 51 graves.

Lakey’s Creek is the setting of quite possibly one of the oldest ghost stories in Illinois. Long before a concrete bridge spanned the shallow creek 1.5 miles east of McLeansboro, a frontiersman named Lakey attempted to erect his log cabin near a ford along the wagon trail to Mt. Vernon. One morning, a lone traveler stumbled upon Lakey’s body. Lakey’s head had been severed by his own axe, which was left at the scene. According to legend, his murderer was never found.

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Head 2 Head: Lebanon Road vs. Nellie Dunton Home

August 27, 2012 By 2 Comments

Lebanon Road vs. Nellie Dunton HomeLocations: Lebanon Road in Collinsville versus Nellie Dunton Home in Belvidere.

Histories: On or around Lebanon Road are seven railroad bridges, some no longer in use. At first glance, there is nothing exceptional about them. All are heavily coated in graffiti — a testament to their popularity for nighttime excursions. The CSX Transportation Line passes over many of these bridges. The Nellie Dunton home is located much further north. According to local memory, a woman named Nellie Dunton grew up there prior to the Civil War and fell in love with an older man, who promised to marry her after the war. When he failed to return, Nellie refused to fall in love again. She spent the rest of her life in her house. Eventually, she wandered into the nearby river and drowned.

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