The information on this and the following pages was mailed to the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency at their offices in Springfield, Illinois, on April 17, 2003.
(The information on these pages is continually updated with additions and changes being made to the original submission for historic status.)

National Register of Historic Places
Preliminary Evaluation
Statement of Integrity
Manteno State Hospital Historic District  

 

Address:
Manteno State Hospital,100 Barnard Road, (now, N. 4000e Rd)  Manteno, IL 60950-9201
HomeStar Bank's administrative offices are now housed within the former Administration Building for Manteno State Hospital. The address of this building is 3 Diversatech Drive, Manteno, IL 60950-9201. The road named, "Barnard" is now N. 4000e Rd., and the original address no longer exists.

The institution's campus, on which the hospital wards and other buildings were built, is located two miles east and a mile south of the village of Manteno and totals 389 acres.

The closest named roads bordering this area are as follows:
North: County Highway 900 E.
South: E. 7000n Rd.
East:  N. 4000e Rd.
West:  N. 3000e Rd.

Location Data
State: Illinois
County: Kankakee
City: Manteno
Elevation: 680 feet
USGS Quad (1964): Bradley
Lat: 41.233âN
Lon: 87.805âW

Classification: Historic District

Date Built: 1928

Original Use: Health Care / Hospital

Original Description:
When first built in 1928, the Manteno State Hospital's main campus consisted of approximately 100 buildings and various facilities on a 389-acre lot.  The entire property however, encompassed approximately 1,000-acres. The first of these buildings included, a gate house, roads, sidewalks, tunnels and transmission, sewers, water pipes, a lighting system, a septic tank and gravel pit, 4 water wells, pumps for pump houses for wells, a water tower, a power house, a managing officer's residence; 12 staff houses, approximately 4 employees' buildings, an administration building, a hospital building, 2 receiving ward buildings, 2 infirmary buildings, 2 tubercular patients' buildings, an amusement hall, 38 ward buildings, a kitchen building, a dining hall, a store building, a mechanical shop, garages, a laundry building, and an occupational therapy building .Buildings scattered about the agricultural parts of the total1,000-acres, included a farm dormitory, a dairy barn, hog houses, farm houses, a horse barn, an implement shed, a pasteurizing plant, green houses, a root cellar, corn cribs, and chicken houses, etc., for farm colonies.An additional 200 acres was purchased in 1936 bringing the total acreage to 1,200.

Siding:
None, modifications made include some remodeling with very little if any deviations from the exterior appearances of original structures. All existing buildings are of red brick including the well houses.

Alterations/New Additions:
The most publicly accessible modification information is available through the state in relation to the Veterans Administration, (VA).  The buildings existing on the northern third of the existing campus have been renovated interiorly to the modifications desired for the caring of elderly and/or infirm United States military veterans.

The VA is also responsible for the demolition of 5 of the original one-story cottage/ward buildings that were demolished within the past 5 years.  These buildings were named Freud, Dunne, Kilbourne, Billings and Meyer. Along with the power plant, these buildings were demolished due to their poor conditions and the presence of asbestos. All of these buildings would have been phenomenally expensive to rehabilitate or preserve.

Other buildings on the property have been sold piecemeal and there is uncertainty as to whom the owners are and to what extent interior renovations have been made to these properties.  All properties appear original from exterior views, with very little renovation other than window and door replacements. Some building lots have been split into thirds, via the removal of ward hallways, (which once enclosed the "bull pins"). This has divided the original ward buildings into 3 separate buildings. A few buildings, presumably used for warehousing have had garage doors implemented where the end windows of wards would have been.  These buildings, save two, are all of the one-story cottage type.The Carriel building, (used by Indian Oaks), built in 1955, has had the windows and doors replaced with more modern and efficient ones, yet the exterior shape of this building has not been altered.The main kitchen and bakery have had their windows and doors replaced with more modern and efficient ones. The exterior shape of these buildings has only slightly been altered to allow for more modern, covered docks and walkways. The bakery still sports its original cupola.

The Administration Building was purchased by the HomeStar bank and according to telephone conversations with bank employees and managers, the entire interior was gutted and renovated leaving nothing of originality left.  Murals obtained through the Federal Art Project in 1936 and created by the artist Gustaf Dalstrom have been removed or destroyed from the lobby of this building as well as the Singer Diagnostic building. In speaking with bank representatives these murals were supposedly given to the Kankakee Historical Society.  Upon telephone conversations with employees of the Kankakee Historical Society, they apparently know nothing of them.  The exterior of the Administration Building, however, remains very much true to its original construction.

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Demolitions and Deconstruction
(Buildings No Longer in Existence) - Last updated November 2004

Managing Officer's Residence (not pictured on map)
This building housed superintendents and their families up until about 1965. It was the once the home of the original property owner, Oliver W. Barnard who sold the property to the state of Illinois in 1927 for the construction of Manteno State Hospital. This building was located right at Barnard Road at the main entrance to MSH, and could have been torn down at any time from approximately 1970 to 2001.

Gate House
This building would have been located along the main drive near Barnard Road and the main entrance into the institution grounds. This building probably did not last long. Very little is known of it, except mentions in a few hospital reports.

17 staff cottages and 1 staff building
The staff cottages were small houses where professional staff such as doctors and their families lived.  The staff building was another housing hall where married nurses and managers lived. All of these buildings were demolished to make way for a new housing development within the past 5 years.  These buildings were located around the main drive to the east of the Administration Building extending to the north and south. Cottages 14 through 17 were located just northeast of the Brandon buildings and cottage 13 was located west of the the power house. (Cottages 13 through 17 are not pictured on image above and were added later than 1930.)

Staff House, Brandon 2, Silvis 1, 2, Nightingale 1 and the Annex (Nightingale 2)
These buildings originally housed attendants and were demolished to make way for the aforesaid housing development. These buildings were located south and north of the Administration Building.

Bowen Hospital Building
This building, which housed the morgue and medical facilities for the institution, was demolished within the last 5 years.  Its location was just north of the Singer building.

Trudeau (Tuberculosis Sanitarium)
This building was originally the tuberculosis sanitarium for the institution and was demolished sometime between 1998 and 2002. Its location was at the northwest corner of the main campus.

Singer Diagnostic Building
This building, with an original capacity of 364 beds, was the admissions building for the institution and was demolished early in 2002. Its location was to the north and west of the Administration Building.

One-story cottages Freud, Dunne, Kilbourne, Billings and Meyer
These one-story cottage buildings were demolished some time between 2000 and 2003.

Two-story cottages Wines, Dewey, Pinel and White
These northern, four, two-story cottage buildings were originally built in 1928, (during the original construction of Manteno State Hospital), and demolished in July of 2003.

Power House
This building housed the power, heating and cooling supply for the entire institution and was demolished in early 2003. It was located to the west end of the main campus behind the main kitchen.

Machine Shop / Maintenance Building
This building served as a maintenance facility for several aspects of the hospital's operation, including painting and repair, from the 1930's until the hospital closed in 1985. It was located just south of the bakery and was demolished in late June of 2004.

One-story cottage Zeller
Zeller was located between Carriel and Todd at the south end of the main campus. This building was demolished in September of 2004.

One-story cottage Todd
Todd was located west of Zeller at the southwest end of the main campus. This building was demolished in October of 2004.

Two-story cottages Gollmar, Dix, Barton and Addams
These southern, four, two-story cottage buildings were originally built in 1928, (during the original construction of Manteno State Hospital). Demolition started end of 2004 and completed late February 2005.

Miscellaneous Facilities
All pasteurizing plants, farms, farm dormitories, animal barns, sheds, agricultural lands, greenhouses and dumps were demolished and completely discontinued at this institution by the late 1960s or early 1970s. Most of the original locations are unknown, save for one farm house that still stands closest to the cemetery and is now owned by the VA.

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Copyright © 2002-2006 the Manteno Project, Some Rights Reserved.