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Elgin
State Hospital Annex |
The original name of the Elgin Mental Health
Facility (its current name) was The Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for
the Insane. The door opened in 1872, however, construction of additional
buildings continued until 1874.
A
rumor circulated for year, and still exists that the State of Illinois
approached the City of Elgin with plans to construct a mental institution and a
college and offered Elgin one or the other. As the rumor goes, Elgin took
the mental institution, De Kalb took Northern Illinois University. As
Elgin Historian and celebrated Elgin History author, Bill Briska points out the
rumor, "...is totally false" He goes on to state that, "The
state hospital was founded in 1869 and the college in 1892. (there are )
No connection between the events".
The man-made lake in the foreground of this
photo was added in 1886. It was 400 by 500 feet in area and was designed
to create a tranquil atmosphere for the patients and employees.
The building shown above was build in 1891 and
was designed to increase the hospital's capacity by some 300 patients.
Within a short time, it would become the home of over 1,000 additional
patients. It was closed in 1960 and razed in 1972.
