The Batavia Institute (currently recognized name) also known as Bellevue Place Sanitarium is a Registered Historic Place in

Batavia, Illinois Batavia () is a city mainly in Kane County, Illinois, Kane County and partly in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kan ...

, US.

Batavia Institute

Batavia 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. 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.

Proposed Normal School

Bids 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.

Mary Todd Lincoln's Stay

In 1875, following the death of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, the 16th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, ten years later,

Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (Birth name, née Todd; December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) was First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1865. Mary Todd was born into a large and wealthy ...

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. 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

In 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

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

s which are lived in as of today. The building is not publicly accessible.

National Register of Historic Places

The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 13 August 1976.

Notes

{{Registered Historic Places 1853 establishments in Illinois Buildings and structures in Batavia, Illinois Buildings and structures in Kane County, Illinois Defunct hospitals in Illinois Defunct schools in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1853 Educational institutions disestablished in 1867 Hospitals established in 1867 Hospitals disestablished in 1965 National Register of Historic Places in Kane County, Illinois School buildings completed in 1854 Tuberculosis sanatoria in the United States School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois