Glore Psychiatric Museum Is One Of The Strangest Places You Can Go In Missouri

Mental health is not a typical theme for a museum, but exploring Glore Psychiatric Museum will give visitors an insight into the minds of those afflicted with mental illness. It was named after a former occupational therapist at St. Joseph State Hospital, George Glore. In 1968, he created the original displays along with the help of some of his patients.

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Over 145 years of state history are on display at the museum along with medical devices from over the centuries, doctors' notes, and patient artwork. The museum is located in the medical and surgical unit of the former St. Joseph State Hospital.

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Visitors can learn about the history of early mental health treatments. Most equipment look like medieval torture devices that were used to calm and control patients.

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Art was a type of therapy for many at the asylum and a creative way to express themselves.

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This is just one of over 10,000 psychiatric hospital items on exhibit here.

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Lobotomies were once widely performed on those suffering from severe mental illness. Now considered inhumane, they were once a widely accepted procedure.

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Some smaller private and semi-private rooms were available for one to four patients and were a better place for patients to rest than being placed in a dormitory.

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This is just one of many other medical procedures used on mental illness throughout the years.

In 2014, the Glore Psychiatric Museum became part of St. Joseph Museums, Inc. which also oversees the Black Archives Museum, Doll Museum, and Native American and History Galleries, all housed in the St. Joseph Museum Complex. You can spend all day exploring what this building has to offer. However, Glore Psychiatric Museum is one-of-a-kind, dubbed “One of the 50 Most Unusual Museums in the Country.” It is an eye-opening look at what has been done to mental health patients and how they were treated over the centuries. Both education and intriguing, a visit to the Glore will be one you will never forget!