Glore Psychiatric Museum facts for kids
| Established | 1967 |
|---|---|
| Location | 3406 Frederick Ave., St. Joseph, Missouri, United States |
| Type | Psychiatric history |
| Founder | George Glore |
| Public transit access |  St. Joseph Transit |
The Glore Psychiatric Museum is a special museum in St. Joseph, Missouri. It shows the 130-year history of a nearby state mental hospital. The museum's exhibits explore how the treatment of mental health has changed over many years. It is known as one of the most unusual museums in the United States.
Contents
The Museum's Story
How It All Began
The museum's collection started in 1966. A man named George Glore, who worked for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, wanted to show people how much mental health care had improved. For a "Mental Health Awareness Week," he built life-sized models of old treatment devices.
These models, along with other historical items, became a museum in 1967. Glore wanted to show the difficult treatments of the past to help people appreciate modern methods. He said, "We really can't have a good appreciation of the strides we've made... if we don't look at the atrocities of the past."
George Glore worked on the museum for his entire 41-year career. Even after he retired in the 1990s, he stayed on as the museum's curator. After he passed away in 2010, Scott Clark took over the role.
A Change of Location
At first, the museum was inside a wing of the original "State Lunatic Asylum No. 2." This hospital was built in 1874 and looked like a fortress. It started with only 25 patients but grew to house almost 3,000 people by the 1950s.
In the 1990s, the old hospital building was turned into a state prison. A new, modern mental health center was built across the street. The Glore Museum then moved into a building from 1968 that used to be a clinic for the hospital's patients.
What You Can See at the Museum
The museum has many items from the old mental hospital. You can see old medical tools, uniforms worn by the staff, and historic photographs. There are also displays of art and writing created by the patients who lived there. One exhibit even tells the story of a man who was a patient at the hospital for 72 years.
The most famous exhibits are the full-sized models of old treatment devices that George Glore built. These show how doctors in the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s tried to help people with mental health challenges.
Historical Treatment Devices
- The Tranquilizer Chair: This chair was invented by Dr. Benjamin Rush, who is often called "The Father of American Psychiatry." It was designed to hold a person still, with restraints for their hands and feet. The goal was to calm a patient during long sessions.
- The Bath of Surprise: This was a platform that would suddenly drop a patient into a tub of ice-cold water. Doctors at the time believed the shock could help treat certain conditions.
- The Giant Patient Treadmill: This was a huge, hamster-like wheel for humans. It was thought that patients with a lot of energy could walk inside it to get tired and become calm.
- The Lunatic Box: This was a tall, narrow box, similar to a closet. Patients who were considered uncontrollable were placed inside to stand until they calmed down.
- O'Halloran's Swing: This was a spinning, hammock-like device. It was used to make a patient dizzy, which doctors hoped would calm them down or help them fall asleep.
See also
- Emotional mental health in the United States
- History of psychiatric institutions
- Psychiatric hospital
