In 1881 two veterinary surgeons announced that they were building a horse hospital in Bloomington. This was a much needed facility, because in 1881, Bloomington moved all its cargo, mail, foodstuffs and citizens by horsepower. John Loving and W. T. Wilson had already established themselves as veterinarians in the area, but by building a horse hospital at Mr. Loving's property at 404 East Front they were taking their practice to the next level. J.R. White, a carpenter, had been hired to build the hospital in two stories, with stalls and surgery room on the first and haymow and grain bins on the second. Of primary consideration was light and ventilation. City water and "all modern conveniences" would be laid on. They hoped to build this hospital for $1000 and be open for patients as early in the spring season as possible.
Earlier articles in the Pantagraph explained the type of treatment necessary for horses at this time. In 1880 there had been a small epizootic among the horses and Dr. Wilson reported that he had treated 26 horses, and lost a few to the horse flu. In 1879 Dr. Wilson was noted to have performed surgery on J.C. Hemline's racehorse. He removed a tumor from the fetlock of this horse. In 1879 Dr. Wilson reported treating 8 horses for lung fever and also treated the horse of William Wright after it burst through a window in the barn of the C & A Shops. This brings up the interesting necessity of horse barns for employee's horses in yesteryear, one I had never really considered before. But horses left tied up at a rail had a distinct tendency to "wander" away, and who wanted this worry while he was busy at work. So in addition to the workspaces of any large employer had to be added a barn for the horses of the employees.
In 1886 it was suggested that Dr. Wilson would be offered the position of state veterinarian, but Dr. Wilson denied that he would accept the position, because his business in Bloomington was so profitable. The position of state veterinarian was not an easy one. He was charged with diagnosing and controlling the spread of infectious disease among horses. The state veterinarian could order the destruction of diseased animals to that purpose, which was always a controversial subject. Besides the common workhorses, there were horse breeders of national standing in McLean County. Ellis Dillon was a breeder of Percherons. He travelled to France to get his breeding stock and built a large horse hospital and barn near the present city buildings in Normal. (The photo above is a recent one of the dillon barn in Normal.) Lyman Graham, the coal mine operator, purchased two racehorses in Missouri in 1886. In August 1885, the Pantagraph enumerated the many horse buyers who were currently in the city purchasing stock: Ullman, of Appleton, Wisconsin; Pinkham, of Chicago; Fultz of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Hamill of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Rosenberg, of Boynton, Pennsylvania and Rosenthal, of Springfield. Horses were a big business in Bloomington, drawing buyers from great distances
The horse hospital was subsequently sold and one veterinarian who occupied that building was Williams. In 1885 Williams examined two horses owned by Isaac West, a local horseman, declared that they had glanders and ordered their destruction under the authority of the state veterinarian. West sued the man who had very recently sold him the diseased animals, but after further investigation, dropped that suit and sued the vet for a faulty diagnosis and hasty destruction of the animals. Life as a veterinarian was not easy!SaveSaveSave