This museum has exhibits that are as unique as its history.

The Indiana Hospital for the Insane

Before we dive into the Indiana Medical History Museum, it's important to understand this museum's unique history.  The Indiana Hospital for the Insane which was then renamed the Central State Hospital opened its doors in 1848.  According to the Indiana Medical History Museum, the hospital grounds sat on 160 acres of land.

Throughout its 150-year history Central State Hospital treated patients with a variety of diagnoses, including schizophrenia (or dementia praecox), depression (melancholia), general paresis, hysteria, alcoholism, senile dementia, and epilepsy. The hospital's Pathological Department opened in 1896 in order to research causes and treatments of these diseases.

Medical Advances coupled with allegations of patient abuse eventually caused the hospital to close in 1994.

Now the Indiana Medical History Museum

Whether you're in the medical field, or just enjoy history, this museum might just be one of the most unique museums in the Hoosier State.  It is located in the former pathology building of the Central State Hospital and is actually the oldest surviving pathology facility in the country.

Inaugurated in 1896, the Pathological Department facilitated medical education and research on the physical causes of mental disease. In operation until the 1960s, the Pathological Department was reborn as a museum in 1969 and its scientifically equipped interior was left intact. 

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If you want to visit the museum you'll need to make an appointment, but it's well worth the planning ahead.  You can see a real teaching amphitheater, laboratories, an autopsy room, and an anatomical museum.   While inside the anatomical museum, you'll see many preserved specimens (which according to the Indiana Medical History Museum is mostly brains, yes, human brains), and much more.  To say this is a unique experience would be the understatement of the century.

If you'd like to take a trip to the Indiana Medical History Museum, you can find all of the information, plus photos, and how to schedule your appointment, here.