Boehne Camp: Evansville’s Abandoned Tuberculosis Hospital

With all of the news in the past week about Andrew Speaker, the Atlanta attorney who was diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB) and then flew to Greece to be married, we thought we’d share a bit of Evansville’s history and how it relates to this story. In case you don’t know, tuberculosis is an infectious disease that affects the lungs and nervous system. It can be transferred via cough, sneeze, spit, kiss or even speaking, which is why it was highly unintelligent of Mr. Speaker to take a trans-continental flight while infected.

During the early 1900s it was an epidemic, but today is treatable using antibiotics in many cases. There is a strand of TB known as drug resistant tuberculosis that can withstand the main antibiotics used to treat TB, isoniazid and rifampin. Since 2000, there have only been 17 cases of extreme drug-resistant TB, which Speaker is infected with.

So where does Evansville fit in?

In the early part of the 20th century, Evansville was the home to one of the largest TB clinics in the midwest. Located on the West side, near USI, Boehne Camp Hospital was established in 1915 as a treatment center for Tuberculosis patients from around the region. Boehne opened in 1910 when Tuberculosis was an epidemic. The hospital began as a tent city where patients would stay outside and breath fresh air, but Evansville Mayor and US congressman, John Boehne, contributed most of the funding to erect the buildings that comprised the hospital. Boehne served as mayor of Evansville from 1905 to 1908. He was elected to a second term as mayor, but took an election to the United States Congress instead. During Boehne’s time as mayor, he also stopped the spread of typhoid in Evansville by creating the waterworks station on the outskirts of downtown Evansville. If you ever take I-164 to or from downtown, you’ve driven by his waterworks station.

The Mills Building & Children’s Hospital

Boehne’s tuberculosis hospital consisted of two buildings: the Mills building and the children’s hospital. There is also an underground tunnel system between the two buildings that also takes you to the cemetery and caretakers residence on the compound. The Mills building is the main facility of Boehne camp where adult patients rested and were treated by Dr Crimm, the facility’s lead TB specialist. The two-story red brick building still stands to this day.

Boehne Camp also housed a children’s hospital for the younger patients. While receiving treatment for TB, the patients of the children hospital were also schooled in one of the building’s several classrooms.

The Boehne compound also had a swimming pool for patients as well as a house where Dr. Crimm lived.

The Closing Of Boehne Camp

In 1967, the decision was made to shut down Boehne Camp due to the massive decline in TB cases. All TB-related treatment in Evansville was passed on to Deaconess. From 1970 until it’s purchase in 1977, it was leased to Alcohol Help and turned into a 30-bed treatment center for treating alcohol addiction. During it’s time as Alcohol Help, the Mills building was remodeled and renamed Gilliam Hall.

In 1977 a physician purchased the building in hopes of turning it into a dorm for USI. That idea fell through, so he tried to renovate the structure into an assistant living home. Before he could realize this venture, however, he passed away (1981).

Boehne Camp Today

Today, the Boehne Camp property is owned by the same people that own Diamond Lanes. The property has sat vacant for over two decades and likely will forever. Recently, renovations have begun on the Mills building and it is rumored that it’s being converted into apartments. The property’s owners demolished the children’s hospital in 2005 because he grew tired of he break-ins and fielding requests to gain access inside of the facility. The children’s hospital was always considered to be haunted by the deceased patients of Boehne Camp and was one of the most eerie buildings in town.

If you drive past the Boehne Camp complex today, you can still see the Mills Building, swimming pool and doctor’s residence. The children’s hospital is nothing but a pile of rubble.

For more photos of what the place looked like inside after it was abandoned, check out Abandoned But Not Forgotten or The Recreational Trespasser.

Update: The Recreational Trespasser shared in the comments that the Mills Building may have a future as an apartment building. Talk about a creepy living experience. I’ve updated the piece accordingly.

Update 2: Based on the previous tip, I made a road trip out to the TB hospital and snapped some photos of the construction on the Mills building. You can see what’s going on by clicking here.

photos and information courtesy of Evansville.net, Abandoned But Not Forgotten, and the Recreational Trespasser.