Return and expanded visit.

Almost all the photographs are ones I personally took and the various black posters are ones I developed with the help of an awesome photo editor named Charles Hall. I have also written six books ranging from a Marine Biology textbook to field guides on Gray Whales, Seals, Sea Lions and Otters, Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, Seabirds and Shorebirds and more.
Please enjoy!

~ Carrie Newell, CEO WREE,WSSM

About the Mansion

St. Joseph is known for an extensive collection of beautiful mansions built in the late 1800s, and the Wyeth Tootle Mansion at the corner of 11th and Charles Streets is a prime example. Built in 1879 by William and Eliza Wyeth, this 43 room mansion was designed to emulate the castles along the Rhine River in Germany. The Wyeth family only lived in the home for approximately 8 years before the home was sold to Kate Tootle. The Tootle family remained in the home until 1947 when it was purchased by William Goetz (owner of Goetz Brewery) to be used as the St. Joseph Museums. With three floors, a tower and more than 40 rooms, it stands today as one of the best examples of St. Joseph’s late 19th century wealth and opulence, featuring stunning woodwork, hand-painted ceilings and imported stained glass.

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The first floor of the Wyeth Tootle Mansion has been partially restored to its Victorian grandeur. Old photographs of each room help visitors visualize the interior as it was around 1900. Each room’s ceiling is impressively different, from the cherubs that float above the Louis XVI parlor to the dark rich colors that cover the Moorish room. Ornate parquet floors and walnut woodwork change from room to room. The upper stories contain museum exhibits.

Exhibits

Edifice:  The Architecture of E. J. Eckel. The architect of the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion and the founder of the firm responsible for 75 percent of the buildings in St. Joseph.  The exhibit focuses on his life and the lasting impact of his accomplishments.

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Intersections:  Of Time and Buildings. This exhibit is housed in three renovated rooms on the second floor.  The exhibit explores the intersections of history, art, architecture, and humanities as well as the past, present, and future of the City.  Museum professionals, preservationists, scholars, and local artists all worked together on this innovative project.   Intersections is a combination art exhibit, exploration of St. Joseph’s history, and imagining of the role of historic preservation in the City’s future.   The exhibit was created by the St. Joseph Museum in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Friends of St. Joseph.

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Confluence: The Great Flood of 1993. An exhibit that chronicles flooding in the St. Joseph area, including the flood in 1952 that covered much of Lake Contrary Amusement Park.  The details on the causes and impacts of the 1993 Flood will be included as a cathartic remembrance of those trying months in the summer of 1993 when much of the Midwest was under water.  The name of the exhibit “Confluence” refers to the merging of rivers and flood waters, as well as the coming together of communities in the face of one of the costliest natural disasters in history. 

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History of the St. Joseph Museum. Step back in time through the extensive history of the St. Joseph Museum. Founded in 1927 as the Children's Museum, the St. Joseph Museum has called five locations its home over the near century it has been in existence. The items displayed in this exhibit are some of the earliest donations which were on display when the museum first opened in the annex of the St. Joseph Public Library. Come learn how our organization has grown and evolved over the years and what the future may hold.

Could you swallow a nail? How about 453 of them? One patient in St. Joseph’s State Lunatic Asylum No. 2, established 1874, 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 mentions in national publications and on television networks including The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel, PBS, and The Science Channel.​

The award winning Glore Psychiatric Museum is the largest of its kind in the world, and a community treasure in St. Joseph. MO. On your exploration of the museum you will see historic treatments, sustainability practices, patient art work, therapy options and so much more! The museum chronicles not only the history of State Hospital #2 but also the history of treatment for the mentally ill and is located in the former surgery and out patient building of the hospital. 

The original ‘State Lunatic Asylum No. 2’ opened in November 1874 with 250 patients on land located east of the City of St. Joseph. Dr. George C. Catlett, the hospital’s first Superintendent, explained that the hospital was dedicated “to the noble work of reviving hope in the human heart and dispelling the portentous clouds that penetrate the intellects of minds diseased.” In 1968, George Glore, an employee of the St. Joseph State Hospital, helped construct a series of full-size replicas of primitive 17th, 18th, and 19th century treatment devices for a Mental Health Awareness Week open house. Those exhibits impressed the hospital officials and sparked the idea to create the Glore Psychiatric Museum. Today, George’s treatment device replicas remain an integral part of the museum’s exhibits.

Welcome to the TWA Museum!

The mission of the TWA Museum is to provide information to the public emphasizing the story, history and importance of the major role TWA played in pioneering commercial aviation. From the birth of airmail to the inception of passenger air travel, to the post-WWII era of global route expansion, TWA led the way for 75 years. The great influence that Trans World Airlines has had on MKC, and the City of Kansas City, Missouri, is one that history can never ignore.

The TWA Museum’s goal is to ensure a permanent, expanding and professionally exhibited collection of artifacts that bring the story of TWA to life here in Kansas City, where it all began.  The Museum is dedicated to the preservation of the legacy of Trans World Airlines’ leadership in the world of commercial aviation.

Instrument Shop mechanic Tom Perry collected TWA items for many years and displayed them throughout the Trans World Airlines MCI Overhaul Base. TWA eventually donated a large space for Tom’s collection near the employee cafeteria in the MCI Overhaul Base. The employees built a special case that exhibited his many items. The opening of the TWA Museum highlighted the pride that was – and still is – typical of virtually all former TWA employees and customers.

Trans World Airlines was a major sponsor for the 1996 celebration of the Smithsonian’s 150th Anniversary, and the TWA Museum’s collection traveled to twelve cities over a period of two years as part of “America’s Smithsonian” Exhibit.

Over the years, with the closing of TWA’s Kansas City Administration Center, the St. Louis Training Center and the Overhaul Base all museum items and displays came together at the Kansas City Expo Center. The TWA Museum became a Chapter of the Platte County Historical Society in 1985 and was under the direction of Marie Trainer. In 2010, Pam Blaschum took over the direction of the TWA Museum and, with Pat Brinkman, worked diligently to secure a space for the TWA Museum in the original building that was built in 1931 to accommodate the newly formed TWA corporate headquarters. Under the direction of Zana Allen, assisted by Karen Martin, the process of securing the Museum’s own 501(c)3 status was completed in May 2013. In August 2013, the TWA Museum was granted its separate 501(c)3 status. A great big thank you to Tom Perry and the Perry Family, and the Platte County Historical Society and its Board, for preserving the history of TWA and protecting its artifacts. The memory of TWA has been assured a place in history through the TWA Museum at 10 Richards Road.

The Daisy Airgun Museum, located in downtown Rogers, Arkansas, is a non-profit corporation which preserves and promotes vintage products and artifacts of the historic Daisy company while serving as a national tourism destination for Daisy fans and collectors.

The success of the Museum is dependant on admissions, product sales, donations and memberships.  We invite you to join the “Friends of the Daisy Museum” to help us maintain this wonderful facility for future generations.

MissionThe mission of the Martin & Frances Lehnis Railroad Museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and educate the public about the role of Brownwood, Texas in the railroad history of Texas  and that of the American Southwest.