The St Vital Museum

The beautiful building at 600 St. Mary’s Road, is now the current home of the St. Vital Museum. It is a two-storey brick structure with stone facing on the main level. Erected in 1914, the station housed both the St. Vital Police and Fire Departments, the latter of which first began operating with three horse-drawn carriages and six firemen. At the rear were stables for horses which drew the wagons and sleighs up until the 1930’s at which point pumper trucks were used. The first fire truck appeared in 1923 with the purchase of an REO Speedwagon. The second floor of the building also originally provided living quarters for the firemen.

The fire station closed in 1972 and the police station closed in 1974. In 1974, the station was retired when St. Vital amalgamated with the City of Winnipeg and was then adapted as a centre for the City Health Department and an ambulance station.

The fire hall achieved its status as a designated heritage building in 1982.

The St. Vital Museum was officially opened on May 24th, 2008.

The museum displays many artifacts related to the history of St. Vital dating from the first settlement in 1820. Special exhibits in the museum include archives dating back to the early 1800’s, the original 1939 Fargo Pumper truck used by the St. Vital Fire Brigade and a copy of the handwritten diary by Victor Mager who was at Fort Garry in 1870 when Thomas Scott was executed under the orders of Louis Riel.

The museum’s goal is to tell the stories and present a pictorial history of such pioneers as Abraham Guay, Victor Mager, Joseph and Marie St. Germain, Fredrick Hulton, William and Mary Ann McDowell, Peter Tod and St. Vital’s most famous son, Louis Riel.