 | In his Will, John C. Proctor directed that Proctor Endowment Home exist to provide food, shelter, and healthcare for those with means and for those who may need assistance, so long as the endowment is able to provide support.
The following is a list of significant events in the history of Proctor Home along with other references that help describe the "times" in which the events occurred.
|
1843 John Cleveland Proctor arrives in Peoria at age 21
1850 Proctor Lumber Company opens for business on Water Street
1854 The railroad makes its way to Peoria — during its peak, the city is served by 15 railroads and 70,000 miles of rail
1867 Lydia Moss Bradley, founder of Bradley University, joins First National Bank Board as the first woman in the U.S. to serve on a bank board of directors (John Proctor was a founder of the Bank in 1863)
1875 John Proctor begins a 31-year tenure as president of the First National Bank of Peoria
1883 John Proctor plays a key role in establishing Cottage Hospital (today Proctor Hospital)
1897 Bradley Polytechic Institute (today Bradley Univesity) opens to students
 1906 John Proctor builds the Proctor Endowment Home on Spring Street in Peoria, which opens with 20 residents
1907 John Proctor dies at Proctor Endowment Home at age 85
1907 John Proctor's will includes child day care for working women, including Proctor employees
1910 Former President Teddy Roosevelt visits Peoria Heights and describes Grand View Drive as the "world's most beautiful drive"
1929 The Great Depression begins; stocks lose an estimated $15 billion of their value on October 29, "Black Tuesday"
1935 Proctor Endowment transfers ownership of Proctor Recreation Center to the Peoria Park District
1941 The U.S. enters World War II, and Cat® machines built in East Peoria are used in both Europe and the South Pacific
1942 Scientists discover a way to mass-produce penicillin at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Lab in Peoria
1953 Proctor Home admits its 1,000th resident
1964 Dietary Supervisor Dixie Donley begins her career at Proctor Home (she is among the Home's longest serving employees)
1970 The University of Illinois College of Medicine establishes a Peoria campus
1974 Northwoods Mall opens
1976 Proctor Endowment Home relocates to its current location on Reservoir Boulevard
1981 Proctor Endowment Home's new apartments (32 independent living units) open
1982 The Peoria Civic Center opens, with Kenny Rogers as the first event
1986 John Boyd Stone concludes a 50-year tenure as a Trustee of Proctor Endowment
1998 Proctor Endowment Home's new Health Care Center opens
2004 Proctor Endowment purchases property from Peoria Park District for a living unit expansion project
|
