The GenevaHistoryMuseum is welcoming back the “Who Was Sadie Cooksey?” photographic exhibit created by late photographer and former Geneva resident Maggie Foskett. The exhibit features haunting images of early residents/prisoners of the Illinois State Training School for Girls.

The now-demolished institution existed between 1894 and 1978 on the east side of Route 25, south of the railroad tracks, which is now the location of the Fox Run subdivision of Geneva. The preview featured a talk by Linda Tart, who was a resident at the facility in 1960 and 1961. The exhibit opened to the general public on Saturday, Feb. 6 and was the subject of a members preview on Friday, Feb. 5.

Tart told of her time at the Girls’ School in 1960 and 1961, which turned out to be a much more positive story than those of residents of earlier years. She did not want to leave, but was eventually forced to return to her own dysfunctional and abusive family. She related stories of how the devoted matrons and teachers at the School helped her to believe in herself, leading to her success in later life.

Tart was sent to the Girls’ School at age 13, after being in four different institutions in Chicago. She was, as she stated straightforwardly, a product of an abusive home. But at the Girls’ School she found good teachers and counselors, routine, schooling, and good food. She recited the names of several teachers who influenced her, all from memory after over 50 years. She especially remembers a  Mrs. Miller, a counselor who supported her and helped her to develop pride, dignity, and self-respect. Tart added that when she made the Honor Roll, she gained another attribute she needed: confidence.

Eventually she was told she couldn’t stay, and she had nowhere to go but back to her abusive home. In 1965, at age 18, she was taken in by a kind women who helped her get her life back together. Remembering the encouragement she received from Ms. Miller at the Girls’ School, Tart went on to work her way through college, eventually earning a Bachelors in Psychology and Masters in Educational Leadership.

After her stirring talk, Tart took questions from the obviously moved members of the packed audience. One questioner asked if she was aware of the cemetery when she lived at the Girls’ School. Tart explained that her days were confined to her dormitory, the school, and the laundry, and she had little knowledge of other aspects of the institution.

Maggie Foskett’s exhibit centers on the more abject aspects of life at the School, focusing on the cemetery she stumbled upon at the closed facility in 1979.

About Maggie Foskett

Foskett was an accomplished photographer, whose works are displayed in the permanent collections of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Born in Brazil in 1919, she completed her early education there and then majored in English at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

Her first marriage ended in divorce, after which she married John D. Foskett, a Chicago businessman, in 1962 (coincidentally the same year that Linda Tart was made to leave the Girls’ School). A few years later they moved to Geneva, where they lived until 1984.

In 1976, at age 57, her artistic interest turned to photography. In 1979, she discovered the old cemetery on the grounds of the closed Girls’ School, and took the photographs of the head stones that are the basis of the exhibit. The film sat undeveloped until 2002, when she brought the photos to life and created the exhibit. She also wrote the text than accompanies the photos.  The exhibit is a sad and profound reflection of the cultural and legal practices at the time of the early days of the Girls’ School, as well as an intriguing display of stunning creative photography.

So, ‘Who was Sadie Cooksey?’

At this point it is largely a rhetorical question. Her entire known history comes from the dates on her tombstone (1904-1924), and a newspaper account of her tragic death. The museum has learned that more records may be stored at the Illinois School for Boys in St. Charles. More important than Sadie’s life story, perhaps, is the story of how society dealt with the problems of the girls who lived at the School at the time.

About the Geneva History Museum

The Geneva History Museum is located at 113 S. Third St., and is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 am to 4 p.m. The cost of admission is $2, which includes the Feature Gallery, “Who is Sadie Cooksey?” and the Main Gallery, “Geneva’s Story” exhibit. Admission is free for museum members.  The Geneva History Museum is an independent not for profit organization not supported by tax dollars.  For more information visit GenevaHistoryMuseum.org or call 630-232-4951.