Peoria, a thriving metropolis by the turn of the twentieth century, is pictured here in 1899, when citizens gathered to dedicate a monument to war veterans.

Methodist Hospital of Peoria

Jessica Rilea
Chapman Junior High School, Farmington

In 1897 Minna Riggs, a lead deaconess in the Methodist Episcopal Church, established the Methodist Hospital of Peoria, Illinois. Riggs suggested that the churches work together in a house to train young girls. On October 28, 1898, the deaconess home and Hospital Association of the Central Illinois Conference incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. On November 24, 1898, the Peoria Daily Transcript announced that a home was for sale on the Bunn property by Lydia Moss Bradley, founder of Bradley University, and that people were welcome to inspect it. The property was at 221 N.E. Glen Oak Avenue. It was a brick barn or carriage house behind a main house.

By 1900 the former house had become a hospital capable of serving 18 to 20 patients. The first floor housed bed space, patient rooms, an office, and small drug room. The second floor had more patient rooms and an operating room. Students there had to be twenty-one years old. They paid no tuition but received a monthly fee of $4 during the first year and $5 for the second. Methodist hospital enjoyed early successes. It served 51 patients, plus 6 free patients, and performed 21 operations.

Bad news came on November 11, 1900. Emelia Bontjes, a widow who lived next door, filed a law suit citing the indecently exposed patients, germs, and horrible odors. On January 13, 1902, the Circuit Court agreed the hospital was a private nuisance and ought to be adapted. On February 9, 1904, the hospital's doors were closed. On December 1, 1905, the hospital board bought the Bontjes property and a vacant lot to the northeast and the hospital reopened on February 9, 1909.

In 1910 the hospital took care of 231 patients and the demand for more bed space grew. Hospital officials then took the property they bought in 1905 and built an addition to the old hospital, making a five-story hospital. The addition took six years to complete starting on May 13, 1911. On May 17, 1917, the hospital was named the Methodist Hospital of Central Illinois.

In January 1921 the students in training school

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came down with scarlet fever. Because of that, the hospital lost $15,000 for the month of January. The demand for space increased again, and in 1923 another house was placed on the back of the hospital and became known as Senior Hall. A fund-raising campaign was organized to finance a new building, and it was decided to process the Central Building, now known as the West Wing.

The hospital struggled during the Great Depression. In 1933 unpaid salaries totaled nearly $1,500, but employees and administrators alike were committed to providing quality care. All Methodist's doors stayed open, and the sick still received care. In 1938 the hospital installed a medical records library to keep track of patient's charts. The number of patients doubled, and births increased by 524 between 1933 and 1937. From 1945 to 1959, many babies were born at Methodist.

The years 1960 to 1975 saw big advances in health care. One advance was the circular bed that can change position. Also, the eye magnet was invented to pull steel slivers from victims' eyes. More houses were bought to hold more patients. In October of 1973 two more parking decks were built onto the hospital.

At the beginning Methodist was a two-story building, but now it has eight stories. The advancements in health care have been a big success. Methodist Hospital now has a helicopter dock for more transportation and emergencies. In 1989 the Methodist Atrium was built. In September 1991 the Downstate Illinois Poston Emission Tomography(PET) Center opened. By the beginning of 1999, the Wonder Center was open for the babies. Methodist Hospital has had many successes in the one hundred years since the setback in 1900.— [From student historian's interviews with Clinton and Ruth Rilea, Nov. 27, 2000; Rosemary Keating Stutle, Healing, Teaching, and Caring.]

59 ILLINOIS HISTORY/APRIL 2001