Batavia Institute
Batavia Institute, a private academy, was chartered on 12 February 1853 by 13 men, including Rev. Stephen Peet, the Congregational minister, Elijah Shumway Town, Joel McKee, John Van Nortwick, Dennison K. Town, who settled in Batavia in 1839 as its first physician, and Isaac G. Wilson. The building's central part, which still stands in Batavia at 333 South Jefferson Street, at Union Avenue, was constructed in 1853–1854 of locally quarried limestone at a cost of $20,000. The architect Elijah Shumway Town designed the building in a Greek Revival style.Proposed normal school
Bids were opened by the State Board of Education in Peoria on 7 May 1857. The first proposition on the agenda was from Batavia, which offered a subscription of $15,000, with the land and building belonging to the Batavia Institute, valued at $30,000, making $45,000 in all. Washington, in Tazewell County, Bloomington, and Peoria submitted proposals, as well.Marshall, Helen E. ''Grandest of Enterprises: Illinois State University, 1857–1957.'' Normal, Ill.: Illinois State University, 1956, pp. 22–23National Register of Historic Places
The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 13 August 1976.Notes
{{Registered Historic Places 1853 establishments in Illinois Buildings and structures in Batavia, Illinois Buildings and structures in Kane County, Illinois Defunct hospitals in Illinois Defunct schools in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1853 Educational institutions disestablished in 1867 Hospitals established in 1867 Hospitals disestablished in 1965 National Register of Historic Places in Kane County, Illinois School buildings completed in 1854 Tuberculosis sanatoria in the United States School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois