Winnipeg - St Boniface Museum

The St Boniface Museum, the oldest building in Winnipeg, was constructed in 1846 for the Grey Nuns and was the first convent, hospital, girls' school and orphanage in the Canadian West. After restoration in 1967 it became a museum. On display are 2300 items, pictures, photographs, etc. documenting the history of Manitoba's French minority; also an extensive collection of Canadian and Metis artifacts. There are reconstructions of a workshop, Metis hunting camp, spinning room, shop, dining, working and sleeping quarters and a kitchen. The display of religious objects and vestments in the chapel off the foyer includes a small bell, the first in western Canada, originally presented to the convent by Lord Selkirk.