North Dakota Mental Hospital Museum

Jamestown, North Dakota

Occupying a former veranda in a working mental hospital -- called Hospital for the Insane when it opened in 1885 -- the North Dakota Mental Hospital Museum displays its artifacts chronologically along a long wall. Its array of uncomfortable items include the expected straitjacket and an unexpected porcelain morgue table. The hospital, according to its own displays, was a notorious hellhole in the 1940s when over 2,000 patients were crammed into it, some living in leg irons and cages.

North Dakota Mental Hospital Museum

Address:: 2605 Circle Drive, Jamestown, ND
Directions:: South of the city, at North Dakota State Hospital. I-94 exit 260, north toward Jamestown. Stay on I-94 Business Loop E. for about a mile, then turn left onto 12th St. SW/State Hospital Rd. Drive south, back under the freeway. At the North Dakota State Hospital sign, veer right. Take the third left, toward Admissions, then take second left into the parking lot. Several of the buildings on the property are now used as prisons, so don't get lost!
Hours:: By appt only. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:: 701-253-3650

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