East Moline Health Center (1975- ), formerly the Illinois Western Hospital for the Insane (1895-1909), Watertown State Hospital (1909-1927), and East Moline State Hospital (1927-1975), was established by the Illinois General Assembly in 1895. Located on a site five miles east of Moline known as Watertown, the hospital opened in May 1898, receiving its first patients from the Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane at Jacksonville. Hospital jurisdiction was initially vested in a three-member, Governor-appointed Board of Trustees which administered the institution subject to Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities inspection. When both boards were abolished in 1909, administrative responsibility transferred to the Board of Administration (1909-1917). The Civil Administrative Code of 1917 transferred jurisdiction to the Dept. of Public Welfare (1917-1961) and since that department's abolishment (1961), administrative responsibility has remained with the Dept. of Mental Health (1961- ).
From the description of Superintendent's correspondence files, 1976-1980. (Illinois State Archive). WorldCat record id: 36850663
