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Ashmore Estates

April 05, 2024

Ashmore Estates is a historic building outside Ashmore, Illinois, United States. It was built in 1916 as the second almshouse on the property, part of the Coles County Poor Farm. This complex operated until 1959.

Ashmore Estates
Ashmore Estates Exterior, c.2002
General information
Architectural styleNeo-Georgian
Town or cityAshmore, Illinois
CountryUnited States
Coordinates39°31′44″N 88°02′59″W / 39.5290°N 88.0498°W / 39.5290; -88.0498
Construction startedMay 17, 1916
CompletedSeptember 1, 1916
Cost$20,389
Design and construction
Architect(s)L.F.W. Stuebe
EngineerJ.W. Montgomery

That year, the building and related grounds were purchased (and named) by Ashmore Estates, Inc. for use as a private care facility for people with mental and other disabilities. Ashmore Estates closed in 1986 because of financial difficulties in a changing health care environment.

The structure was abandoned and vacant until 2006. Under new ownership, it was adapted and operated as a commercial haunted house. Storm damage in 2013 resulted in another change of ownership. Owners since 2014 have performed basic repairs for structural preservation, and intend to feature it as a historic structure and site for paranormal investigation.

History edit

Coles County Poor Farm edit

 
First Coles County Almshouse, c.1890

From 1857 until 1869, the Coles County Poor Farm was located in Charleston Township near the small town of Loxa, Illinois. In 1870, the county purchased 260 acres from A. N. Graham in Section 35 of Ashmore Township for a new farm, which was crossed by the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad. A small timber and brick building, constructed by H. B. Truman, was the first on that property. It was 38 x 58 feet and two storeys tall, with an attached kitchen. The initial Superintendent or "Overseer of the Poor" of the county farm was Oliver D. Hawkins, who had migrated in 1841 to Coles County from Kentucky.[1]

As inmates sometimes died at the farm, the county maintained a small cemetery for their burials north of the grounds. In 1879, Joshua Ricketts, superintendent of the county farm, recorded a total of 32 deaths among the estimated 250 inmates who had stayed at the farm between 1870 and 1879. Another pauper cemetery, established a few years later, is visible south of Route 16. It is believed to contain the graves of between 60 and 100 people.[2]

The Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities visited the poor farm in 1902 to assess the facility. "The heating is by stove and is sufficient", they reported. "There is no regular system of ventilation, but plenty of fresh air is easily obtained. There is no plumbing ... There is no fire protection." As for the condition of the mentally ill at the farm, they wrote: "There is no special provision for the insane ... None are locked up or in restraint."[3]

By 1911, however, the Auxiliary Committee of the State Board of Charities condemned the almshouse for its "vermin infected walls", "rough floors", "small windows", and improper ventilation. It was reported that "flies swarmed everywhere" and "were especially noticeable on the poor food prepared for dinner".[4] In January 1915, the Almshouse Committee, headed up by John Goodyear, Ivory W. Merritt Jr., E.N. Carter, W.R. Zimmerman, and William Knollenberg, received bids for the construction of a new "fireproof" building at the location.[5]

The building contract for the new almshouse was awarded to S.C. Sailor of Oakwood, Illinois, but he backed out of the project in late February 1916. The contract was granted to J.W. Montgomery in March for $20,389, and the cornerstone was laid on May 17, 1916.[6] A full-time caretaker and his family were allowed to live in the almshouse or in a white farmhouse that used to be on the property.

Nancy Swinford, the daughter of Leo Roy and Lura Andrews Swinford, lived at the home for eight years during the 1940s and 1950s. In a 2009 interview with the Times-Courier, Swinford said of the Poor Farm:

"It certainly did a lot of people a lot of good. They were warm and had good food on the table. And, they loved working and earning their keep. They weren’t moochers ... They mostly grew their own food, did their own butchering, and smoked the meat. They smoked their own bacon and hams in the smoke house, they killed and dressed all their own chickens, and made their own butter."[7]

Ashmore Estates edit

Coles County retained most of the farmland, but sold the almshouse and near property to Ashmore Estates, Inc. in February 1959. That corporation opened the building as a private psychiatric hospital by the same name. In October 1964, after five years in operation, the psychiatric hospital closed down because of debt. The institution re-opened in 1965, but changed its focus from a private facility to one that accepted patients from state mental institutions. These were trying to break up the large asylums of the time. By 1968, the shelter care facility housed 49 residents, including 10 who had epilepsy.[8]

Paul Swinford (no relation to Mary Swinford) and Galen Martinie purchased the institution in July 1976. The two originally envisioned building a new, one-floor residence, to house up to 100 patients, but the state planning committee refused to approve that plan. Swinford and Martinie invested more than $200,000 to construct a modern addition to the old building and upgrade systems throughout. Construction began in 1977, but was not finished until the 1980s.[9]

On December 12, 1981, Barbara Jean Clark became director of the care facility. "We have the opportunity to be one of the best facilities of our kind in the area", she remarked in their eight page in-house organ, The Ashmore Review.[10] It included patients who were developmentally disabled, and training was planned.

In February 1986, Paul Swinford entered into a limited partnership with a Peoria-based company known as Convalescent Management Associates, Inc. to help manage the institution's finances. Because the departments of Public Aid and Public Health did not issue required licenses and certificates for nearly a year, Swinford filed for permission from the Illinois Health Facility Planning Board to close the facility. At that time, Ashmore Estates' financial losses exceeded $1.5 million.[11] By the end of April, all of the residents had been transferred to area homes, and Ashmore Estates closed its doors.

Abandonment and controversy edit

 
Ashmore Estates, c. 2006

No one attempted to re-open the institution for three years. In 1990, Paul Swinford, with Corrections Corporation of America, based in Tennessee, tried to adapt Ashmore Estates as a mental health facility to treat teenage boys who were in the justice system. On December 18, the Ashmore Village Board unanimously rejected Swinford's request for a zoning permit. They stated concerns related to fire safety of the facility, and public opposition to the proposed use.[12]

On Halloween night in 1995, a fire destroyed an outbuilding that was across the lawn from the front entrance of the main building. This was the site of the former house of the poor farm superintendent.[13] The outbuilding had been used to teach motor skills to the developmentally disabled prior to the facility's closure in 1987.

In 1998, Arthur Colclasure, from Sullivan, paid $12,500 for the property with intentions to renovate the building as his private home.[14] These plans were soon abandoned due to repeated vandalism.

Haunted house edit

In August 2006, Scott Kelley and his wife purchased Ashmore Estates from Colclasure and began renovating. According to Kelley: "The building was a wreck ... it took seven weeks of 40 hours a week to clean it out ... the windows were mostly broken."[15] To finance the project, the Kelleys offered flashlight tours of the interior. Locals and self-styled paranormal investigators quickly lined up to get a look inside.[16] To discourage trespassers, they erected signs and moved onto the property.

The Kelleys opened their commercial haunted house on October 13, 2006.[15] In the off-season, Scott offered overnight stays in the building, under a program called a "Night of Insanity". He featured speakers, movies, and guests such as psychic medium Cari Stone from The Cari Stone Show.[17]

Storm damage edit

In January 2013, the Ashmore area was hit by a fierce storm, with windspeeds reaching 80 to 100 mph. Ashmore Estates suffered considerable damage; its roof was blown off and the support gables were destroyed. Director Dan Ensign of the Coles County Emergency Management Agency said that the building appeared to be damaged beyond repair. The Kelleys' home, adjacent to the property, escaped largely unscathed.[18]

Ownership changes edit

The Kelleys sold the building at auction in April 2013 for a price of $12,700 to Robert Burton & Ella Richards. They sold it in May 2014 for an undisclosed amount to Robbin and Norma Terry, owners of the R Theater in Auburn, Illinois.[19] The Terrys replaced the roof, installed bathrooms, a shower, and a kitchenette, and made many other renovations to the building for safety and structural preservation.

Aided by volunteers, the Terrys intend to preserve the building as a historical structure and a site for paranormal investigation.[20]

Representation in other media edit

  • In 1997 Mike Rice and Matt Fear wrote a satirical piece, published in The Daily Eastern News, on how to make Ashmore Estates into a "highly illegal" Halloween escapade.[21]
  • In 2004, Michael Kleen published a collection of short historical fiction called Tales of Coles County, Illinois. One story related to Ashmore Estates; it recounted residents during the Great Depression seeing a ghost of a girl who died in the first almshouse.[22]
  • In the summer of 2008, Christopher Saint Booth and Philip Adrian Booth, producers of documentaries such as Spooked (2006) and Children of the Grave (2007), filmed at Ashmore Estates.[23][24]
  • A chapter on the history, folklore, and ghost stories of Ashmore Estates was included in the book Paranormal Illinois (2010).[25]
  • In September 2011, Ashmore Estates was featured on the season 5 premiere of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel.
  • In February 2013, it was investigated by the SyFy's Ghost Hunters on the season 9 episode called "Permanent Residents".
  • Ashmore Estates was featured again in season 3 of Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks; the previous and current owners shared new experiences and updates on the building.[26]
  • In December 2022, the estate was featured on the season 4 episode of the Travel Channel's Destination Fear.[27]

References edit

  1. ^ Perrin, William Henry (1879). The History of Coles County, Illinois. Chicago: W. Le Baron. p. 600.
  2. ^ "County still responsible for 'Poor Farm' cemetery". Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. 20 July 2001. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012.
  3. ^ Seventeenth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois. Springfield: Phillips Bros. 1902. p. 72.
  4. ^ Daily Courier (Charleston). 12 August 1911.
  5. ^ Daily Courier (Charleston). 11 January 1915.
  6. ^ Daily Courier (Charleston). 1 March 1916.
  7. ^ Clark, Bonnie (19 October 2009). "Coles County Poor Farm: Local resident recalls memories of living there during her childhood". Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
  8. ^ Courier-News (Charleston). 17 August 1968.
  9. ^ Times-Courier (Charleston). 11 May 1979.
  10. ^ The Ashmore Review. Ashmore Estates. 30 December 1981.
  11. ^ Times-Courier (Charleston). 14 April 1987.
  12. ^ Times-Courier (Charleston). 19 December 1990.
  13. ^ Times-Courier (Charleston). 2 November 1995.
  14. ^ Times-Courier (Charleston). 29 July 1998.
  15. ^ a b Kleen, Michael (2010). Paranormal Illinois. Atglen: Schiffer Books.
  16. ^ Kenealey, Kevin (18 August 2006). . Daily Eastern News. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011.
  17. ^ Stroud, Rob (6 June 2007). "Ashmore Estates gears up for a haunting good time Friday night". Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012.
  18. ^ Stroud, Rob (January 30, 2013). "Ashmore, Westfield hit hard by Tuesday night storm; warming centers opened". Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. from the original on 27 February 2013.
  19. ^ Churchill, Vince (30 October 2015). "Ashmore Estates – A Real Haunted House?". The Source. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  20. ^ Fopay, Dave; Bilharz, Samantha (30 April 2013). "Ashmore Estates building sold at auction for $12,700". JG-TC.com.
  21. ^ Daily Eastern News (Charleston). 31 October 1997.
  22. ^ Giffith, Laura (28 October 2005). . Daily Eastern News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010.
  23. ^ West, Nathaniel (20 July 2008). "TV team uses technology to root out spirits at Ashmore Estates". Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012.
  24. ^ Stroud, Rob (30 October 2009). "Documentary producers make return visit to Ashmore Estates". Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012.
  25. ^ Heldebrandt, Beth (26 April 2010). "Three Coles County legends are detailed in book". Journal Gazette/Times-Courier. from the original on 7 February 2013.
  26. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
  27. ^ "Ashmore Estates".

Bibliography edit

  • Kleen, Michael (2010). Paranormal Illinois. Atglen: Schiffer Books.
  • Kleen, Michael (2010). Tales of Coles County, Illinois. Rockford: Black Oak Press, Illinois.
  • Perrin, William Henry (1879). The History of Coles County, Illinois. Chicago: W. Le Baron.

External links edit

  • Ashmore Estates website
  • at the Legends and Lore of Illinois
  • Illinois Poorhouses: Coles County

April 05, 2024
ashmore, estates, historic, building, outside, ashmore, illinois, united, states, built, 1916, second, almshouse, property, part, coles, county, poor, farm, this, complex, operated, until, 1959, exterior, 2002general, informationarchitectural, styleneo, georgi. Ashmore Estates is a historic building outside Ashmore Illinois United States It was built in 1916 as the second almshouse on the property part of the Coles County Poor Farm This complex operated until 1959 Ashmore EstatesAshmore Estates Exterior c 2002General informationArchitectural styleNeo GeorgianTown or cityAshmore IllinoisCountryUnited StatesCoordinates39 31 44 N 88 02 59 W 39 5290 N 88 0498 W 39 5290 88 0498Construction startedMay 17 1916CompletedSeptember 1 1916Cost 20 389Design and constructionArchitect s L F W StuebeEngineerJ W MontgomeryThat year the building and related grounds were purchased and named by Ashmore Estates Inc for use as a private care facility for people with mental and other disabilities Ashmore Estates closed in 1986 because of financial difficulties in a changing health care environment The structure was abandoned and vacant until 2006 Under new ownership it was adapted and operated as a commercial haunted house Storm damage in 2013 resulted in another change of ownership Owners since 2014 have performed basic repairs for structural preservation and intend to feature it as a historic structure and site for paranormal investigation Contents 1 History 1 1 Coles County Poor Farm 1 2 Ashmore Estates 1 3 Abandonment and controversy 1 4 Haunted house 1 5 Storm damage 1 6 Ownership changes 2 Representation in other media 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External linksHistory editColes County Poor Farm edit nbsp First Coles County Almshouse c 1890From 1857 until 1869 the Coles County Poor Farm was located in Charleston Township near the small town of Loxa Illinois In 1870 the county purchased 260 acres from A N Graham in Section 35 of Ashmore Township for a new farm which was crossed by the Indianapolis amp St Louis Railroad A small timber and brick building constructed by H B Truman was the first on that property It was 38 x 58 feet and two storeys tall with an attached kitchen The initial Superintendent or Overseer of the Poor of the county farm was Oliver D Hawkins who had migrated in 1841 to Coles County from Kentucky 1 As inmates sometimes died at the farm the county maintained a small cemetery for their burials north of the grounds In 1879 Joshua Ricketts superintendent of the county farm recorded a total of 32 deaths among the estimated 250 inmates who had stayed at the farm between 1870 and 1879 Another pauper cemetery established a few years later is visible south of Route 16 It is believed to contain the graves of between 60 and 100 people 2 The Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities visited the poor farm in 1902 to assess the facility The heating is by stove and is sufficient they reported There is no regular system of ventilation but plenty of fresh air is easily obtained There is no plumbing There is no fire protection As for the condition of the mentally ill at the farm they wrote There is no special provision for the insane None are locked up or in restraint 3 By 1911 however the Auxiliary Committee of the State Board of Charities condemned the almshouse for its vermin infected walls rough floors small windows and improper ventilation It was reported that flies swarmed everywhere and were especially noticeable on the poor food prepared for dinner 4 In January 1915 the Almshouse Committee headed up by John Goodyear Ivory W Merritt Jr E N Carter W R Zimmerman and William Knollenberg received bids for the construction of a new fireproof building at the location 5 The building contract for the new almshouse was awarded to S C Sailor of Oakwood Illinois but he backed out of the project in late February 1916 The contract was granted to J W Montgomery in March for 20 389 and the cornerstone was laid on May 17 1916 6 A full time caretaker and his family were allowed to live in the almshouse or in a white farmhouse that used to be on the property Nancy Swinford the daughter of Leo Roy and Lura Andrews Swinford lived at the home for eight years during the 1940s and 1950s In a 2009 interview with the Times Courier Swinford said of the Poor Farm It certainly did a lot of people a lot of good They were warm and had good food on the table And they loved working and earning their keep They weren t moochers They mostly grew their own food did their own butchering and smoked the meat They smoked their own bacon and hams in the smoke house they killed and dressed all their own chickens and made their own butter 7 Ashmore Estates edit Coles County retained most of the farmland but sold the almshouse and near property to Ashmore Estates Inc in February 1959 That corporation opened the building as a private psychiatric hospital by the same name In October 1964 after five years in operation the psychiatric hospital closed down because of debt The institution re opened in 1965 but changed its focus from a private facility to one that accepted patients from state mental institutions These were trying to break up the large asylums of the time By 1968 the shelter care facility housed 49 residents including 10 who had epilepsy 8 Paul Swinford no relation to Mary Swinford and Galen Martinie purchased the institution in July 1976 The two originally envisioned building a new one floor residence to house up to 100 patients but the state planning committee refused to approve that plan Swinford and Martinie invested more than 200 000 to construct a modern addition to the old building and upgrade systems throughout Construction began in 1977 but was not finished until the 1980s 9 On December 12 1981 Barbara Jean Clark became director of the care facility We have the opportunity to be one of the best facilities of our kind in the area she remarked in their eight page in house organ The Ashmore Review 10 It included patients who were developmentally disabled and training was planned In February 1986 Paul Swinford entered into a limited partnership with a Peoria based company known as Convalescent Management Associates Inc to help manage the institution s finances Because the departments of Public Aid and Public Health did not issue required licenses and certificates for nearly a year Swinford filed for permission from the Illinois Health Facility Planning Board to close the facility At that time Ashmore Estates financial losses exceeded 1 5 million 11 By the end of April all of the residents had been transferred to area homes and Ashmore Estates closed its doors Abandonment and controversy edit nbsp Ashmore Estates c 2006No one attempted to re open the institution for three years In 1990 Paul Swinford with Corrections Corporation of America based in Tennessee tried to adapt Ashmore Estates as a mental health facility to treat teenage boys who were in the justice system On December 18 the Ashmore Village Board unanimously rejected Swinford s request for a zoning permit They stated concerns related to fire safety of the facility and public opposition to the proposed use 12 On Halloween night in 1995 a fire destroyed an outbuilding that was across the lawn from the front entrance of the main building This was the site of the former house of the poor farm superintendent 13 The outbuilding had been used to teach motor skills to the developmentally disabled prior to the facility s closure in 1987 In 1998 Arthur Colclasure from Sullivan paid 12 500 for the property with intentions to renovate the building as his private home 14 These plans were soon abandoned due to repeated vandalism Haunted house edit In August 2006 Scott Kelley and his wife purchased Ashmore Estates from Colclasure and began renovating According to Kelley The building was a wreck it took seven weeks of 40 hours a week to clean it out the windows were mostly broken 15 To finance the project the Kelleys offered flashlight tours of the interior Locals and self styled paranormal investigators quickly lined up to get a look inside 16 To discourage trespassers they erected signs and moved onto the property The Kelleys opened their commercial haunted house on October 13 2006 15 In the off season Scott offered overnight stays in the building under a program called a Night of Insanity He featured speakers movies and guests such as psychic medium Cari Stone from The Cari Stone Show 17 Storm damage edit In January 2013 the Ashmore area was hit by a fierce storm with windspeeds reaching 80 to 100 mph Ashmore Estates suffered considerable damage its roof was blown off and the support gables were destroyed Director Dan Ensign of the Coles County Emergency Management Agency said that the building appeared to be damaged beyond repair The Kelleys home adjacent to the property escaped largely unscathed 18 Ownership changes edit The Kelleys sold the building at auction in April 2013 for a price of 12 700 to Robert Burton amp Ella Richards They sold it in May 2014 for an undisclosed amount to Robbin and Norma Terry owners of the R Theater in Auburn Illinois 19 The Terrys replaced the roof installed bathrooms a shower and a kitchenette and made many other renovations to the building for safety and structural preservation Aided by volunteers the Terrys intend to preserve the building as a historical structure and a site for paranormal investigation 20 Representation in other media editIn 1997 Mike Rice and Matt Fear wrote a satirical piece published in The Daily Eastern News on how to make Ashmore Estates into a highly illegal Halloween escapade 21 In 2004 Michael Kleen published a collection of short historical fiction called Tales of Coles County Illinois One story related to Ashmore Estates it recounted residents during the Great Depression seeing a ghost of a girl who died in the first almshouse 22 In the summer of 2008 Christopher Saint Booth and Philip Adrian Booth producers of documentaries such as Spooked 2006 and Children of the Grave 2007 filmed at Ashmore Estates 23 24 A chapter on the history folklore and ghost stories of Ashmore Estates was included in the book Paranormal Illinois 2010 25 In September 2011 Ashmore Estates was featured on the season 5 premiere of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel In February 2013 it was investigated by the SyFy s Ghost Hunters on the season 9 episode called Permanent Residents Ashmore Estates was featured again in season 3 of Ghost Adventures Aftershocks the previous and current owners shared new experiences and updates on the building 26 In December 2022 the estate was featured on the season 4 episode of the Travel Channel s Destination Fear 27 References edit Perrin William Henry 1879 The History of Coles County Illinois Chicago W Le Baron p 600 County still responsible for Poor Farm cemetery Journal Gazette Times Courier 20 July 2001 Archived from the original on 14 July 2012 Seventeenth Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois Springfield Phillips Bros 1902 p 72 Daily Courier Charleston 12 August 1911 Daily Courier Charleston 11 January 1915 Daily Courier Charleston 1 March 1916 Clark Bonnie 19 October 2009 Coles County Poor Farm Local resident recalls memories of living there during her childhood Journal Gazette Times Courier Archived from the original on 13 July 2012 Courier News Charleston 17 August 1968 Times Courier Charleston 11 May 1979 The Ashmore Review Ashmore Estates 30 December 1981 Times Courier Charleston 14 April 1987 Times Courier Charleston 19 December 1990 Times Courier Charleston 2 November 1995 Times Courier Charleston 29 July 1998 a b Kleen Michael 2010 Paranormal Illinois Atglen Schiffer Books Kenealey Kevin 18 August 2006 Haunted house history revealed Daily Eastern News Archived from the original on 9 July 2011 Stroud Rob 6 June 2007 Ashmore Estates gears up for a haunting good time Friday night Journal Gazette Times Courier Archived from the original on 10 July 2012 Stroud Rob January 30 2013 Ashmore Westfield hit hard by Tuesday night storm warming centers opened Journal Gazette Times Courier Archived from the original on 27 February 2013 Churchill Vince 30 October 2015 Ashmore Estates A Real Haunted House The Source Retrieved 29 May 2018 Fopay Dave Bilharz Samantha 30 April 2013 Ashmore Estates building sold at auction for 12 700 JG TC com Daily Eastern News Charleston 31 October 1997 Giffith Laura 28 October 2005 Student author gets creative with Coles history Daily Eastern News Archived from the original on 24 April 2010 West Nathaniel 20 July 2008 TV team uses technology to root out spirits at Ashmore Estates Journal Gazette Times Courier Archived from the original on 9 July 2012 Stroud Rob 30 October 2009 Documentary producers make return visit to Ashmore Estates Journal Gazette Times Courier Archived from the original on 9 July 2012 Heldebrandt Beth 26 April 2010 Three Coles County legends are detailed in book Journal Gazette Times Courier Archived from the original on 7 February 2013 Aftershocks Ghost Adventures Crew Archived from the original on 2016 06 29 Retrieved 2016 07 04 Ashmore Estates Bibliography editKleen Michael 2010 Paranormal Illinois Atglen Schiffer Books Kleen Michael 2010 Tales of Coles County Illinois Rockford Black Oak Press Illinois Perrin William Henry 1879 The History of Coles County Illinois Chicago W Le Baron External links editAshmore Estates website Ashmore Estates at the Legends and Lore of Illinois Illinois Poorhouses Coles County Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ashmore Estates amp oldid 1176826362, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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