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| location = Lincoln, IL
 
| location = Lincoln, IL
 
| architecture_style =  
 
| architecture_style =  
| peak_patient_population = 5,200 in 1962
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| peak_patient_population =
 
| alternate_names =<br>  
 
| alternate_names =<br>  
 
*Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children
 
*Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children
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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. Under the new board the institution became Lincoln State School and Colony.
 
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. Under the new board the institution became Lincoln State School and Colony.
  
To sustain the school, in 1929 the Illinois Department of Public Welfare built a residential farm colony for men about two miles away from the main campus. The state purchased 725 acres of land, and there it built ten ward buildings, a kitchen,a dining room, and a powerhouse. The new colony provided housing for 620 men without severe disabilities who then worked the farmland along with supervisor employees.
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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. The school's name which had been shortened to Lincoln State School in 1953 was again altered to Lincoln Developmental Center in 1975. After years of investigations into neglect and abuse of patients, the facility closed on August 31, 2002.
 
 
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. The school's name which had been shortened to Lincoln State School in 1953 was again altered to Lincoln Developmental Center in 1975.  
 
 
In the 1970s activists advocated for the closure of large institutions, arguing that people with mental retardation should be cared for in the community. Spurred on by this movement—and by lawsuits, rising costs, and changing notions of the rights of people with mental retardation—many states sought alternatives to state schools in the 1970s. In Illinois, state schools came to the forefront of public attention with the appearance of a shocking series of articles about the living conditions at the Lincoln and Dixon state schoolsAfter years of investigations into neglect and abuse of patients, the facility closed on August 31, 2002. The farm annex has been converted into a prison and the original campus remains vacant.
 
  
 
== Images of Lincoln State School ==
 
== Images of Lincoln State School ==
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File:Lincoln.jpg
 
File:Lincoln.jpg
 
file:Lincoln.png
 
file:Lincoln.png
File:lincoln15.png
 
File:lincoln.jpg
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
 
==Cemetery==
 
==Cemetery==
 
There is a cemetery for the former patients, however it is now part of a prison and difficult to obtain permission to visit. There are several hundred graves marked with flat stones and a number or a name.
 
There is a cemetery for the former patients, however it is now part of a prison and difficult to obtain permission to visit. There are several hundred graves marked with flat stones and a number or a name.
 
*VL-We were granted tower & Ground permission to photograph the Developmental Center Cemetery. There are over 1800 graves in 3 large blocks that we have digital photos of. My photos of this Cemetery can be seen by going to Find A Grave and searching for Developmental Center Cemetery. Since no one is allowed to be on the cemetery grounds, there is not one single flower on any of the graves and all the stones are pretty much the same. Some stones from 1878 to the early 1900's only have names engraved clearly on a square piece of concrete, never possessing birth or death dates. The graves are also in order by death date.
 
 
*JG - you are allowed to visit the cemetery if you are visiting a family member buried there. While the above is partially true in that it appears visitors are not common, the cemetery is outside the prison fence and we have flowers at my Uncle’s grave. You have to call ahead during regular business hours to have permission from the Warden, then check in at the visitor center for the men’s prison to ensure the guard towers have communication. I was able to find the exact location by speaking with someone at the Illinois State Archives before we first visited. I add this information I hopes it may give guidance to another family searching for a loved-one.
 
  
 
==Books==
 
==Books==
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==Links==
 
==Links==
Song titled John Doe No. 24  
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[http://www.realchoiceinillinois.org/documents/Equip%20for%20Equality%20LDC%20Report.pdf/ Report on patient abuse at Lincoln]<br>
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[http://mybignoise.blogspot.com/2007/08/forgotten-lonely-place.html A Forgotten Lonely Place] repost of newspaper article by David Bakke<br>
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Song titled John Doe No. 24 (see books, below)
 
*[http://www.jango.com/music/Mary+Chapin+Carpenter?l=0 Recording of song on Jango]
 
*[http://www.jango.com/music/Mary+Chapin+Carpenter?l=0 Recording of song on Jango]
 
*[http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/carpenter-mary-chapin/john-doe-no-24-5242.html Lyrics to song]
 
*[http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/carpenter-mary-chapin/john-doe-no-24-5242.html Lyrics to song]

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