Ashmore Estates facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ashmore Estates |
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Ashmore Estates Exterior, c.2002
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neo-Georgian |
| Town or city | Ashmore, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 39°31′44″N 88°02′59″W / 39.5290°N 88.0498°W |
| Construction started | May 17, 1916 |
| Completed | September 1, 1916 |
| Cost | $20,389 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | L.F.W. Stuebe |
| Engineer | J.W. Montgomery |
Ashmore Estates is an old building near Ashmore, Illinois in the United States. It was built in 1916. This building was once a place called an almshouse. An almshouse was a home for people who were poor or sick.
It was part of the Coles County Poor Farm. The building was used as a home for people in need until 1959. Then, it became a private hospital for people needing mental health care. This hospital closed in 1986. The building was empty for many years. In 2006, it opened as a fun haunted house for visitors.
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History of Ashmore Estates
The Coles County Poor Farm
From 1857 to 1869, the Coles County Poor Farm was in a different spot. It was near a small town called Loxa, Illinois. In 1870, the county bought new land. This land was 260 acres big. It was in Ashmore Township, Coles County, Illinois. A new building was put up there. It was made of timber and brick. This building was 38 by 58 feet and had two floors. It also had a kitchen attached. Oliver D. Hawkins was the first manager of this farm.
Many people who lived at the farm died there. The county had a small cemetery for them. It was somewhere north of the farm. In 1879, the manager, Joshua Ricketts, said 32 people had died. This was out of about 250 people who had lived there. Another cemetery was made later. It is south of Route 16. This cemetery holds the graves of 60 to 100 people.
In 1902, a group visited the poor farm. They checked on how things were. They said the heating was good. There was no special way to get fresh air. But it was easy to open windows. They also said there was no indoor plumbing. There was no way to fight fires. For people with mental illness, they wrote: "No one is locked up."
But by 1911, another group said the building was bad. They said the walls had bugs. The floors were rough. The windows were small. And there was not enough fresh air. They also said that "flies were everywhere." They were especially on the food. In 1915, a committee decided to build a new building. It would be "fireproof."
The job to build the new almshouse was first given to S.C. Sailor. But he quit the project. Then, J.W. Montgomery got the job in March 1916. He was paid $20,389. The first stone of the new building was placed on May 17, 1916. A person and their family lived there to take care of the residents. They also lived in a white farmhouse nearby.
Nancy Swinford lived there for eight years. This was in the 1940s and 1950s. She said in an interview: "It helped many people. They were warm and had good food. They liked working and earning their keep." She added: "They grew their own food. They also prepared their own meat. They smoked bacon and hams. They raised chickens. And they made their own butter."
Ashmore Estates as a Hospital
Coles County kept the farmland. But they sold the almshouse building. Ashmore Estates, Inc. bought it in February 1959. This company opened the building as a private mental hospital. It had the same name, Ashmore Estates. In October 1964, the hospital closed. It had only been open for five years. It closed because of money problems.
The hospital opened again in 1965. But it changed how it worked. It started taking patients from state mental hospitals. By 1968, the building housed 49 people. Ten of them had epilepsy.
Paul Swinford and Galen Martinie bought the hospital in July 1976. They wanted to build a new, one-floor building. It would hold up to 100 patients. But the state committee did not approve their plan. So, Swinford and Martinie spent over $200,000. They built a new part onto the old building. Construction started in 1977. It finished in the 1980s.
After the new part was done, the hospital looked better. On December 12, 1981, Barbara Jean Clark became the director. She said: "We can be one of the best places like this." She wrote this in their newsletter, The Ashmore Review.
In February 1986, Paul Swinford worked with a company. It was called Convalescent Management Associates, Inc. They helped manage the hospital's money. But government groups were slow to give licenses. This went on for almost a year. So, Swinford asked to close the hospital. Ashmore Estates had lost over $1.5 million. By the end of April, all the patients had moved. Ashmore Estates closed its doors.
Becoming a Haunted House
In August 2006, Scott Kelley bought Ashmore Estates. He started fixing it up. Scott said: "The building was a mess. It took seven weeks to clean it." Most of the windows were broken. To get money for repairs, the Kelleys gave tours. People could explore the building with flashlights. They put up signs to stop people from breaking in. They also moved onto the property.
Their haunted house opened on October 13, 2006. When it was not Halloween season, Scott offered "Night of Insanity" stays. People could spend the night in the building. There were speakers, movies, and guests. These guests included psychic medium Cari Stone.
Storm Damage and New Owners
In January 2013, a big storm hit Ashmore. Winds were very strong, up to 100 miles per hour. Ashmore Estates was badly damaged. Its roof blew off. The support walls were destroyed. An official said the building looked too damaged to fix. The Kelleys' home next door was mostly fine.
Scott Kelley sold the building in April 2013. Robert Burton and Ella Richards bought it for $12,700. They sold it in May 2014 to Robbin Terry. Robbin Terry owns the R Theater in Auburn, Illinois. Robbin has replaced the roof. He also put in bathrooms, a shower, and a small kitchen. He has done many other repairs. These repairs make the building safer. They also help save the building.
Under Robbin's ownership, the building is no longer a haunted house. Instead, it is kept as a historical place. It is also used for paranormal investigations.
On May 2, 2014, Robbin and Norma Terry bought the building. It was in bad shape when they got it. But with their hard work and help from volunteers, they have fixed it up. They have made it look much like it did originally. They plan to continue paranormal investigations. The Terrys have said they will not make it a haunted attraction again. They enjoy letting many people enjoy the building.
Stories and TV Shows
After being empty in 1987, Ashmore Estates became famous. People were curious about it. Some people broke in and damaged it. Stories spread that the building was haunted. For Halloween, a newspaper wrote a funny story. It was about how to make Ashmore Estates a "highly illegal" Halloween adventure. They wrote: "No one is sure what this building was. But there are stories. These tales are about old rituals and body parts. We don’t know if they are true. But they make for fun."
In 2004, Michael Kleen wrote about Ashmore Estates. It was in his book, Tales of Coles County, Illinois. The story was about a man and his daughter. They stayed at the poor farm during the Great Depression. The man was bothered by the ghost of a girl. Her name was Elva Skinner. She died in a fire in the first almshouse. Since the book came out, some people say Elva's ghost really haunts the building. A new version of Tales of Coles County came out in 2010.
When Scott Kelley started tours in 2006, many people came. Locals and ghost hunters wanted to see inside. In summer 2008, filmmakers Christopher Saint Booth and Philip Adrian Booth filmed there. They make movies like Spooked and Children of the Grave. A newspaper wrote about their visit: "Ghosts, dark mists, and a history of death. There couldn't be a better place for a ghost hunt than Ashmore Estates." A chapter about Ashmore Estates was in the book Paranormal Illinois.
In September 2011, Ashmore Estates was on TV. It was on the show Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel. This was for the start of their fifth season. In February 2013, it was also on Syfy's Ghost Hunters. This was for a season nine episode called "Permanent Residents." Nick Groff, a former Ghost Adventures investigator, held a ghost event there in April 2015. It was also on the show Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks. The old and new owners shared new experiences and updates about the building.
Images for kids
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Ashmore Estates Exterior, c.2002
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First Coles County Almshouse, c.1890
- 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.
