Aug. 19—CARROLLTON — Officials knew the days of the Greene County Almshouse northeast of Carrollton were numbered. The historic building had fallen into disrepair and was a hazard to anyone, particularly the ghost hunters who often prowled the grounds at night.
However, no one could have predicted that two fires in less than three weeks would ultimately condemn the 152-year-old structure.
A fire, reported at 9:31 p.m. Wednesday, engulfed the building. By the time firefighters arrived, flames were shooting at least 40 feet into the air, Carrollton Fire Protection District Chief Tim Thaxton said.
The building was a loss.
Flames from the fire were so bright that Greene County Board Chairman Mark Strang, who lives 10 miles from the almshouse, said he could see the blaze from his house.
"If it could burn, it burned. What's left is just some brick-framed walls. It's just a skeleton of the building." Sheriff Rob McMillen said.
It was the second fire reported this month at the building that once provided shelter for the county's poor, elderly and incapacitated. A fire on Aug. 7, an apparent arson, heavily damaged the second story of the building.
Thaxton said an investigator with the state fire marshal's office was on the scene Thursday and his investigation is continuing.
"We suspect it was arson. We have evidence to support that theory," Thaxton said. "There were no natural means to start the fire. No storms. No electricity. No source of heat."
The building had been a longstanding concern for the Greene County Board, but the two August fires have made doing something with the building more urgent.
"It has been on our radar because we knew it was in bad condition," Strang said. "We've had a lot of ghost hunters get on the property and go through the house and we were worried about the liability connected to that."
On its website, the St. Louis Paranormal Research Society said the Greene County Almshouse was "rumored to be very haunted, many trespassers to the site have claimed to have had a paranormal experience. There are reports of seeing lights passing by the windows and hearing people talking and screaming when no one else is in the house."
McMillen said it was a sad situation for the county and its residents.
"It was nothing pretty to look at, but it was historical. There were families with history there and they have heard recollections from great-grandparents and grandparents, so it had significance to the people of this area," McMillen said. "It's sad to see it go like this. It's a shame it couldn't have ended in a better way than arson."
Strang said no one had lived in the building since the 1970s, but there are about 250 acres of farmland surrounding the property that the county rents out.
"It gives us a little extra cash on hand in what we call our farm account," Strang said. "We use it when some unexpected expenses come up."
McMillen said the building's condition had deteriorated over the years.
"The roof, windows and doors were in poor condition. It was unsafe to be inside," McMillen said. "With the Aug. 7 fire, the structure was still some somewhat stable and the floor was keeping the walls from falling in. Even before the first fire, it needed to come down for safety reasons."
Strang imagines that tearing it down and clearing the land will be the next step.
"We had concerns about asbestos, and we were going to check it out," Strang said. "Now that it has been totally burned out, the board is going to have to meet and proceed on the advice of the county engineer," Strang said. "We want to do things correctly."
Thaxton said the three companies that comprise the fire district — Carrollton, Kane and Eldred — were called out to the blaze. When he saw the fire was contained, Thaxton said he decided mutual aid was unnecessary. He said in excess of 43,000 gallons of water were used to put out the fire. Firefighters were on the scene until past 2 a.m. Thursday.
The almshouse is one of last few remaining buildings of its kind in Illinois. According to Journal-Courier archives, it was on the list of the 10 most endangered historic buildings in Illinois in the early 2000s, but preservation efforts over the years have consistently fallen short.
Greene County established its first poor farm in 1842. The county saw a need for a larger facility in 1869, and it built the Italianate-style almshouse in 1870. The building held 30 residents at any given time. Its population included paupers, vagrants, orphans and the elderly.
The almshouse gradually became a home for the elderly rather than a general poorhouse. By 1910, the majority of the almshouse's residents were 60 years or older, and the proportion increased to 90% by 1928. In 1932, Illinois formally shifted to a statewide direct welfare program which removed the need for the county almshouse program.
The almshouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 17, 1991.
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