Richards House
511 Illinois Avenue

As the story goes, a Franklin Medical College student, John Rood, in his desire to finish his last year of study, chose to take matters into his own hands. After hearing of the untimely death of young Marilla Kenyon in April 1849, Rood decided to exhume the body for his own educational purposes. The grave robbing was soon discovered by the deceased's family and traced back to Dr. Richards and the Franklin Medical College. An angry mob of men decided to question Dr. Richards. Richards who, at this point in time, had no knowledge of the theft, denied any wrongdoing. Soon Richards was informed of the truth behind the crowds accusations. In hopes of resolving the situation in a peaceful manner, he requested that Mrs. Kenyon's body be hidden off the premises. Unfortunately, the matter would not be settled peacefully.

While searching for the remains of Mrs. Kenyon, the group of men found a mutilated male cadaver in Richards' barn; they again became enraged. In the following moments, gunshots killed Rood and wounded Dr. Richards. (The bullet holes remained visible in the front door of the home prior to its removal in the late 1980s.) Mrs. Kenyon's body was recovered after the shooting.

Following the incident, Dr. Richards fled, eventually moving to Dubuque, Iowa. He died there in 1853, due in part to the wounds that he received during the riot.

Franklin Medical College closed after this incident.

For additional photographs, see these sources, more fully described in the Bibliography.

Reflections of St. Charles p 24

Also see...

Franklin Medical College

Sources

• Architectural Survey, St. Charles central district, St. Charles: St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission, 1995.
  
• Clauter, Hazel. Our Community--St. Charles, IL: Units I-VI: Historical Information Compiled for Thrid Grade Teachers. 1990.
  
• Nelson, Redner B. Franklin Institute: Illinois' First Medical School. Geneva, Ill: Grant House Press, 1991.
  
• Sloan, LeRoy H. "And the Valley Awakened."
  
• Zeuch M.D., Lucius H. History of Medical Practice in Illinois, Vol. 1, Preceding 1850. Chicago: The Book Press, 1927.