ST. PAUL – Visitors streamed in and out of the St. Paul Museum during its 2023 Open House on June 11, enjoying a barbecue as they listen to live music being played outdoors, then wandering indoors to view the museum’s many exhibits.
The St. Paul Museum is home to two museums that have been working together for several years.
The Musée Historique de St. Paul Historical Museum showcases the history of St. Paul and area, while the People’s Museum Society of St. Paul and District provides interactive displays featuring the agricultural traditions in rural northeastern Alberta.
Inside the museum, individuals admired artifacts from the many displays, revealing a glimpse of the past.
Among those attractions are pictures and items from the community of St. Vincent, a hamlet located within the County of St. Paul, north of the Town of St. Paul. The new display was unveiled during the museum’s annual open house celebration.
“We’re trying to secure our heritage... because a lot of this stuff has been lost,” said Lise Belliveau, president of the Musée Historique de St. Paul Historical Museum, as she gestured to the items on display, which includes historical pictures from St. Vincent, and objects from a church in the community built long ago.
Belliveau said more communities will be highlighted by the museum in the future.
Showcasing the history of these communities, such as St. Vincent, not only involves a collection of items, but also a tour. At some point in August, a historian will be doing a bus tour of St. Vincent in French that interested members of the community can join, according to Belliveau.
People’s Museum
Clem Fontaine is the president of the People’s Museum Society of St. Paul and District. He revealed one of the artifacts the society has been hard at work of restoring over the winter is an old wagon.
“We spent the winter restoring some of the artifacts we have,” he explained, offering the wagon as an example. The wagon has been at the museum for quite a long time and just needed repairs.
Other displays still available to view that were showcased at the open house include a Ukrainian display, which tells the stories of Ukrainian immigrants to the region.
A vintage dental display features dental equipment dating back to the 1930s, while another area of the museum features items from the Star Beauty Shop, a business that operated in St. Paul in the 1950s.
Fontaine thanked the community for their continued support of the museum. Seeing such a big turnout is rewarding for those who dedicate their time to preserving the community’s history, he said.
Many of the people who stop by for the open house do also come back, which Fontaine is grateful for.
“A lot of this history is going to be going if we don’t do something and hang onto it,” he noted.
Fontaine also gave an update on the CPR train station being moved to the museum in the fall.
The railway station is being acquired from the Historical Village and Pioneer Museum at Shandro, or Shandro Museum, located east of Edmonton. The acquisition process began in 2020.
RELATED: Historic Canadian Pacific Railway station coming to St. Paul
The project costs $168,800 in total, which includes moving the station to St. Paul, and its restoration.
The station, which is being moved from the Shandro area, is scheduled to arrive sometime at the beginning of September. Restoration is anticipated to be completed before October 2024.
