Could you swallow a nail? How about 453 of them? One patient in St. Joseph’s State Lunatic Asylum No. 2 did just that. This collection is one of many intriguing exhibits that earned the Glore Psychiatric Museum recognition as “One of the 50 most unusual museums in the country” and mentioned in national publications and television programs including The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel, PBS, The Science Channel and a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor.

Today, The Glore Psychiatric Museum chronicles the 140-year history of the state hospital and centuries of mental health treatment. Surgical tools, treatment equipment, furnishings, nurse uniforms, personal notes, and other items from the hospital are on display. Coffin-like confinement boxes, a dunking bath, and other primitive mental health treatments will make you grateful for modern medicine.

Fascinating artwork from hospital patients gives a glimpse into the minds of those who suffered from mental illness. The needlework-stitched words of a mute schizophrenic, speak volumes. Pottery, paintings, drawings, and other artwork on display provided patients with therapy and an outlet to express their pain, joy, and hopes.

We hope you don’t suffer from Nosocomephobia (fear of hospitals) and that you can visit the Glore Psychiatric Museum.

Admission to the Glore Psychiatric Museum allows you to tour the entire St. Joseph Museums complex, which houses the American Indian and History Galleries, the Doll Museum, and the Black Archives Museum.