Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 264

 

St. Claude Gaol Museum
5 PR & 240 North
St. Claude

St. Claude Gaol Museum

Designation Date:  January 18, 2005
Designation Authority:  Village of St. Claude
Present Owner:  St. Claude Gaol Committee

The Saint-Claude Gaol Museum, ca. 1912, the area’s first jail and the only historic structure still standing on St. Claude’s original high street, is a rare surviving example of an early stand-alone community gaol in Manitoba. The building’s frontier roots are revealed by its unpretentious vernacular exterior, characterized by economy of materials, functional design and no-frills appointments, and on the inside by the modest security amenities of its twin wooden cells. The facility, built by J.C. Rey, was used exclusively as the local lock-up from its construction until the 1930s, then expanded to the rear to serve as the village fire hall from the 1940s until 1975. Recently restored to its humble beginnings, the jail currently functions as a museum.

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