This building, constructed between 1846 and 1851 using oak logs with the Red River frame technique, was originally the Grey Nuns Convent. As a mission house, it provided facilities for the Nuns’ various works of education and charity, which included caring for the aged and orphans, treating the sick, and instructing children. It is now the oldest building in Winnipeg and is the home of the St. Boniface Museum, opened in 1966.
A plaque on a limestone base in front to the museum was placed there by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. An adjacent City of Winnipeg plaque unveiled by Mayor William Norrie on 18 June 1991 commemorates the canonization of Sister Marguerite D’Youville, the first Canadian-born saint, founder of the Grey Nuns order which arrived in the Red River Settlement in 1844. The building (a municipally-designated historic site) underwent renovation in the mid-1990s, for which it received a Heritage Winnipeg Conservation Award in 1996.
Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum (April 2017)
Source: George Penner
Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum (June 2024)
Source: Greg Petzold
Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum (June 2024)
Source: Greg Petzold
Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum (June 2024)
Source: Greg Petzold
Chapel on the rear of Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum (June 2024)
Source: Greg PetzoldSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88777, W97.12350
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Manitoba Organization: Grey Nuns
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Arrival of the Grey Nuns at the Red River Colony Plaque (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Grey Nuns Monument (Tache Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Grey Nuns Monument (Tache Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Les Soeurs Grises-Grey Nuns Plaque (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Marguerite D’Youville Plaque (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Grey Nuns Monument (Tache Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Arrival of the Grey Nuns at the Red River Colony Plaque (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Grey Nuns Convent / Le Musée de Saint-Boniface Museum (Tache Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Les Soeurs Grises-Grey Nuns Plaque (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Marguerite D’Youville Plaque (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Soeurs Grises Monument (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Grey Nuns Convent (RM of St. Francois Xavier)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ste. Rose du Lac Hospital (Third Avenue East, Ste. Rose du Lac, Municipality of Ste. Rose)
The Grey Nuns and the Red River Settlement by Sister Marie Bonin
Manitoba History, Number 11, Spring 1986Historic Sites of Manitoba: Red River Frame Buildings
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Riel Millstones (Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Louis Riel Statue (494 Avenue Taché, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Plaques for Persons, Events and Sites of National Historic Significance
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Information for this page was provided by The City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development Department, which acknowledges the contribution of the Government of Manitoba through its Heritage Grants Program.
Grey Nuns' Convent (St. Boniface Museum), (494 Avenue Tache), City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings and Resources Committee, 1995.
We thank George Penner and Greg Petzold for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 15 July 2024
Historic Sites of Manitoba
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