Est. 1916 · Almshouse History · Psychiatric History · Institutional Care · Poor Farm
Coles County established its first poor farm in 1857 in Charleston Township. By 1911, state inspectors had condemned the existing building, citing vermin-infested walls, rough floors, inadequate ventilation, and food so poor that flies swarmed it during meals. A replacement structure was authorized, and the new almshouse on this Ashmore Township site was completed in 1916 at a cost of $20,389.
The facility served Coles County's indigent population for over four decades. Between the original poor farm era beginning in 1870 and the 1879 period alone, county records documented 32 deaths among the 250 residents who passed through. Conditions improved modestly over the decades following the new construction, but the facility remained an institutional last resort for the county's poorest residents.
In February 1959, Ashmore Estates, Inc. purchased the property and opened it as a private psychiatric hospital. The facility closed in October 1964 due to debt, then reopened in 1965 with a new operating model — accepting patients transferred from state mental institutions rather than private clients. New ownership in 1976 invested over $200,000 in modernization. Financial losses eventually mounted beyond recovery, and the psychiatric facility closed permanently in April 1986 when its remaining residents were transferred elsewhere.
The building sat abandoned from 1986 to 2006. Robbin and Norma Terry purchased the property in 2014 and focused on preservation and paranormal investigation. In January 2025, Robbin decided to sell, and Ashley Yvonne Burgoon bought the property under a contract for deed; she became sole owner through a conventional mortgage in August 2026, with Robbin continuing to work alongside her. Ghost Adventures featured Ashmore Estates in the season 5 premiere in September 2011. Ghost Hunters investigated the property in a 2013 SyFy episode titled "Permanent Residents."
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashmore_Estates
- https://ashmoreestates.net/history
- https://paranormalmilwaukee.com/locations/ashmore-estates/
- https://beyondhaunted.com/illinois/ashmore-estates-coles-county-almshouse
- https://ghostresearch.org/Investigations/ashmore.html
- https://ghostresearch.org/Investigations/ashmore2016.html
ApparitionsEVPEMF anomaliesPhantom soundsPhantom footstepsShadow figuresCold spots
The paranormal record at Ashmore is extensive enough that the building appears in regional investigation databases with named entities and categorized phenomena. Two figures dominate the lore.
Elva Skinner is identified in both local mortuary records and Coles County folklore as a young girl (sources vary between age 5 and 7) who died in February 1880 when her dress caught fire at the original 1870-era poor farm building — the predecessor to the current 1916 structure. She has been associated with the present building largely through the work of folklorist and Coles County native Michael Kleen, whose 2004 collection 'Tales of Coles County, Illinois' included a fictional story in which her ghost torments a Depression-era resident. That story crystallized her presence in Ashmore's modern paranormal tradition; investigators today routinely report a young female presence in the building.
The second named figure, Joe Bloxom, is rooted in regional oral tradition rather than documentary record: a former resident said to have been struck by a train while walking the nearby tracks and to have limped back to the poor farm, dying of his injuries inside. His tall apparition is reported by investigators inside and outside the building, occasionally identified by facial features.
Both narratives function less as verified historical accounts than as the named characters investigators have inherited from the property's prior visitors. The patients and residents who actually lived here did so because circumstances left them nowhere else, and that institutional weight — 70 years of poorhouse, then 27 years of psychiatric care — anchors the property's reputation regardless of which specific entity any given investigation team claims to encounter.
Ghost Adventures chose Ashmore for their season 5 premiere in September 2011. Ghost Hunters followed with a season 9 SyFy episode titled 'Permanent Residents.' Both productions documented activity in the main ward spaces and basement. The current owners continue to host investigation groups year-round through both private direct bookings and public events run by partners like Haunted Rooms America.
Notable Entities
Elva SkinnerBloxom
Media Appearances
- Ghost Adventures Season 5
- Ghost Hunters Season 9
- Destination Fear: Ashmore Estates (S4E6) (2022)
