Lincoln Developmental Center

The Lincoln Developmental Center was an institution for developmentally challenged children in Lincoln, Illinois. It was founded in 1877 as the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children, became the Lincoln State School in 1954, and adopted its final name in 1975. It was closed in 2002 by Gov. George Ryan after reports of abuse, neglect and preventable deaths.[1][2]

According to historian David Bakke, "conditions at the Lincoln State School were horrible; overcrowded and understaffed. It was a community unto itself. The deaths of residents were not investigated, and their bodies were buried on the grounds"

Name: Lincoln Developmental Center - RG 254
Variant Name: Lincoln State School; Lincoln State School and Colony; Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children; Illinois Institution for the Education of Feeble-Minded Children; Experimental School for the Instruc

Historical Note:
In 1865 the General Assembly instructed the directors of the Illinois Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb to establish an Experimental School for the Instruction and Training of Idiots and Feeble-Minded Children in the State of Illinois (L. 1865, p. 78). The school was temporarily located in Jacksonville and after a five-year trial period the General Assembly incorporated it as the Illinois Institution for the Education of Feeble-Minded Children (L. 1871, p. 417).

As one of the state's permanent charitable institutions, it was to provide care, support, training, and education for mentally deficient children. A three-member board of trustees, appointed by the Governor, exercised general supervision and selected a superintendent to operate the institution. They also were subject to the investigative authority of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities. Appropriations for the acquisition of land and the construction of buildings were made in 1875 but the institution's permanent quarters in Lincoln were not occupied until 1878. In 1877 the institution's name became the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children (L. 1877, p. 13).

The institution had its own hospital and shops in which inmates manufactured brushes, mattresses, and shoes. Inmates also worked on a nearby farm owned and operated by the institution.

In 1909 the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities and the boards of trustees of all state charitable institutions were abolished and executive and administrative control was transferred to the newly created Board of Administration (L. 1909, p. 102). Under the new board the institution became Lincoln State School and Colony.

With the passage of the Civil Administrative Code in 1917 the Department of Public Welfare assumed all responsibility for the school and retained control until the creation of the Department of Mental Health in 1961 (L. 1961, p. 2666). The school's name which had been shortened to Lincoln State School in 1953 was again altered to Lincoln Developmental Center in 1975 (P.A. 79-581, p. 1895).

1 cubic ft
ledgers 35 volumes
Correspondence ; Chronological arrangement

Superintendent/managing officer correspondence includes letterpress copies of letters to inmates' families (e.g., inmate support; inmate progress; clothing receipt); letters written for inmates; and semiannual clothing billing. Correspondence (1899-) concerns employee vacations; salary increases; teacher appointments; county inmate support payments; institutional purchasing practices; inmate transfer to Dixon State Colony; Lincoln tonsillitis epidemic (1912); and the nursing program

Lincoln Developmental Center, an Illinois state developmental center for mentally handicapped children, was initially established (1865) by Illinois Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb directors instructed by the General Assembly to found an Experimental School for the Instruction and Training of Idiots and Feeble-Minded Children in the State of Illinois at Jacksonville. Following a five year trial period, the school was incorporated as the Illinois Institution for the Education of Feeble-Mined Children (1871). Plans for a permanent Lincoln school location were begun in 1875, but the facility did not open until 1878. Additional name changes have included the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children (1877-1909); Lincoln State School and Colony ((1909-1953); Lincoln State School (1953-1975); and Lincoln Developmental Center (1975-). Administrative responsibility for the school has belonged to the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities (1871-1909); Board of Administration (1909-1917); Dept. of Public Welfare (1917-1961); Dept. of Mental Health (1961-1975); and Dept. of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (1975- )

Time periods covered : 1867-1899 ; 1910 ; 1912 ; 1918-1923; 1925; 1933-1939

Correspondence includes items issued by the school under its earlier names: Experimental School for the Instruction and Training of Idiots and Feeble-Minded Children in the State of Illinois; Illinois Institution for the Education of Feeble-Minded Children; and Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children

Record Series 254.002, Lincoln Developmental Center, Correspondence, Illinois State Archives