Exploring the Museum

Across 500 square meters of exhibition space, in a century-old building in the center of Saint-Pierre, the Museum’s collections tell the story of life in the archipelago in days gone by, one theme at a time.

The themes of the visit

Prohibition
The Roaring Twenties, when liquor passed through Saint-Pierre on its way to the United States: bottles, crates, the counter of the Northern Trading Co., and the archives and story of Henri Morazé, who made his fortune in the liquor trade.
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Health
A rich collection of medical instruments and pharmacy items, and the memory of Doctor Dunan (1884–1961).
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Education
The atmosphere of a classroom in the days of the certificat d’études (primary school certificate).
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Religious life
The story of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny, who arrived in Saint Pierre and Miquelon in 1826: chapel, chalices, habits, and liturgical objects. For the bicentennial of their arrival, in 2026, a statue of Anne-Marie Javouhey, founder of the congregation, was placed in the chapel.
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Fishing
The era of dory fishing: small boats, lanterns, and nets.
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Communication
Telephones, radios, typewriters, a gramophone, and projectors.
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Lighthouses and beacons
Lanterns, lenses, and lights that guided ships around the archipelago.
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Traditional trades
The tools of the artisans of days gone by.
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The great mural
An imaginary procession at Galantry, painted by Jean-Jacques Oliviero.
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Photos of the visit

The counter of the Northern Trading Co.Prohibition

The J. Morazé & Fils store, quai de la RoncièreProhibition

Operating table and pharmacy display casesHealth

Bell, medals and school keepsakesEducation

Communion wafer baking ironReligious life

Lanterns and signal lightsLighthouses and beacons

Lighthouse lensesLighthouses and beacons

A lighthouse of the archipelagoLighthouses and beacons

Richmond thermometer, HalifaxTraditional trades

Temporary exhibitions

Each season, the Museum also presents a temporary exhibition alongside its permanent collections.

2008
Lighthouses and beacons. Lanterns, lighthouse lenses, and signal lights, around the lighthouses of the archipelago.
2010
The Musée Héritage goes to the movies. A hundred years of amateur and professional cinema in Saint Pierre and Miquelon (photos below).
2012
The pioneers of photography. Around the archipelago’s first photographers, such as the L. Briand studio.
2014–2015
In our grandmothers’ kitchens. Kitchen utensils and furniture of yesteryear, and the recipes made with them.
2017
Prohibition in the spotlight. In the footsteps of the Gentleman bootlegger.
2018
In the Days of the Dory (“Au temps du doris”). Models and boats centered on the dory, an emblem of small-scale fishing in the archipelago.
Since 2019
Printing. A typesetting workshop and restored equipment from the former government print shop. Since 2021, the exhibition has also featured “La Nationale,” a 1930s printing press weighing 700 kg.
2026
Bicentennial of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny. Two hundred years after the first sisters arrived in Saint Pierre and Miquelon (1826), a statue of Anne-Marie Javouhey, founder of the congregation, joined the Museum’s chapel.

2010 in pictures: “The Musée Héritage goes to the movies” (“Le Musée Héritage fait son cinéma”)

For its 2010 season, the Museum presented a hundred years of amateur and professional cinema in Saint Pierre and Miquelon: cameras, projectors, reels, and sound-recording equipment.