The Saint-Claude Gaol Museum, 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 facility, built in 1912 by local farmer Joseph Claude Rey (1870-1946), 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. It is a municipally designated historic site (2005) in the Rural Municipality of Grey.
St. Claude Gaol Museum (June 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
St. Claude Gaol Museum (August 2019)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.65740, W98.34673
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dairy Museum of Manitoba (St. Claude, RM of Grey)
Death registration [Joseph Claude Rey], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Joseph Rey], Winnipeg Tribune, 7 November 1946, page 42.
Saint-Claude Gaol Museum, Canada’s Historic Places.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 5 July 2022
Historic Sites of Manitoba
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