“Uncommon Character” is the new brand for St. Joseph, but I think it’s an understatement to call this place “Uncommon!”  Rare, extraordinary, and in some cases, downright weird might be more fitting!  Here are my top 5 weird things to do in St. Joseph!

5.  Take a walk in Mount Mora cemetery, one of the few cemeteries in the country that is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Check out the amazing statuary, monuments, and mausoleums there.  Bring along pencils and tracing paper to take a rubbing or two of carved stone lettering or decorative ornaments.  Mount Mora Cemetery

4.  Check out the Fire Museum, which started in 1938 and features pictorial displays and vintage fire-fighting equipment.  St. Joseph Fire Museum

3.  Drive around to view and photograph the fabulous (and fabulously abundant!) gilded-age architecture.  St. Joseph was one of the wealthiest river cities during Victorian times, and still boasts more than 100 extravagant mansion homes, over 70 historic churches, and beautiful examples of historic commercial buildings downtown. Museum Hill Neighborhood

2.  Complete a scavenger hunt at the Patee House Museum, one of the top-ten western history museums in the country.  When you are finished, ride the working carousel that is housed there!  Patee House Museum

and of course, the number 1 weird thing to do here is to visit the Glore Psychiatric Museum!  This award-winning museum tells the history of the treatment of mental illness with compelling displays and interpretation. Glore Psychiatric Museum

Have fun!