Peoria State Hospital (gone)

This place is on private property. Listing for informational purposes only. Please do not visit without express permission from the land owner.

Peoria State Hospital Historic District 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.

The hospital grounds are the subject of local ghost lore. One well documented legend tells of Manuel A. Bookbinder "Old Book", a patient who worked with the burial crew at the hospital until his own death.

It is said that upon his death his physical form was seen by the head doctor, Dr. Zeller, and over a hundred of the patients and nurses that attended his funeral crying at the old elm in the potters field.

A closer inspection of the casket for which he rested showed the peaceful remains of the loved figure still resting within, thus the legend of the "Graveyard Elm" began.

In the 1920s, Zeller penned a book titled, Befriending The Bereft, drawn from the mysterious experiences he had at the hospital during his two tenures as superintendent, 1902–1913 and 1921–1935.