Scandal. Justice. Recovery.
Stories of wealth & tragedy from Port Arthur's early suburb.
Who was William Leithenen and how did he meet his tragic fate? Why did the Queen place a naval training center so far from the ocean? Who were some of Port Arthur's most well-to-do residents and where did they live?
Learn the answer's to these questions and more on this tour!
The tour is approximately 1.5 km and should last 60-75 minutes.
Earpieces will be provided to all participants for optimal hearing purposes.
The Historical Walking Tours will operate weather permitting, we encourage you to dress appropriately. In instances of inclement weather, we will do our best to reschedule the walking tour. If we are unable to reschedule the tour or you cannot join us at the later date we will be offering full refunds.
Our tours welcome participants of all ages, but some of the content may not be suitable for small children. Parental discretion is advised. Please note that all tours are offered in the English language only.
Starting Location: In front of St. Andrew's Church, 294 Red River Rd
The Thunder Bay Museum reserves the right to cancel the walking tour due to safety concerns, low attendance, or staffing shortages. In the event of a cancellation, a rain-date will be scheduled for the tour and your registration will be transferred to that date. Should you be unavailable for the rain-date, a refund of your registration fee will be processed upon your request.
Intrigue. Hidden Tales. Lost History.
The stories behind downtown Port Arthur.
Who was Oliver Prevost and why did he die? Why does the second floor of the Prince Arthur Hotel sometimes smell like cigar smoke? How did the Queen’s Hotel meet its untimely end?
All of these questions and more will be answered during the Port Arthur Walking Tour.
The tour is approximately 1.5km and should last about 90 minutes.
These tours welcome participants of all ages, but some of the content may not be suitable for small children. Parental discretion is advised. Please note that all tours are offered in the English language only.
Starting Location: Thunder Bay Tourist Pagoda, 198 Red River Road
This will be an in-person event that is free to view. The lecture will be broadcast live via ZOOM for those who cannot attend in person and recorded and then to the Museum's YouTube at a later date.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WEBINAR
I have done Jingle Dress workshops, dance presentations, sewing workshops in several First Nations communities, local Indigenous agencies, as well as school settings. I attended Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival in Toronto twice as a vendor, participated in a runway show for Tournament of Hope and other local grassroots fashion shows. I’ve been told to do my best to dance when requested, and share the teachings, gifts and stories, as the Jingle Dress is the Healing dress.
Speaker Bio:
Hello, my name is Cheryl Suggashie and I am from Pikangikum First Nation, a semi isolated community located in Northwestern ON. I have been a Jingle Dress Dancer since 2011. I grew up not knowing about my culture and pow wow’s. I attended one pow wow in Whitefish Bay ON, when I was a child. I saw what it looked like an “army of Jingle Dress dancers,” ever since I have always wanted to dance Jingle Dress. It was not until I attended Algoma University, in Sault Ste. Marie, that I gained the teachings and stories about the Jingle Dress, the healing dress. I have several teachers to help me. I learned how to sew, held a ceremony and feasted for our Jingle Dresses. We danced for the very first time and had our “welcoming into the pow wow circle” at Gathering at the Rapids Pow Wow. The location was a former Residential School, so the survivors were happy that we brought culture and ceremonies back into their former school.
I did my Masters in Social Justice, at LU. I did practicum with the students at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School. I taught students to make their own healing dress, in honor of those who passed away attending the school.
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Parking
The Thunder Bay Museum has a free parking lot on the East side of the building, but there are only 16 spaces. On-street parking and other lots nearby are available.
This lecture session is part of the Society's long tradition of holding free public lectures. From September to March, talks on a wide range of topics are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Thunder Bay Museum.
The 2025-2026 Thunder Bay Museum lecture series is sponsored by the Lakehead University Department of History.
You are invited to a Zoom webinar!
When: Sep 23, 2025 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Free Public Lecture - Jingle Dresses
Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82085571052
Phone one-tap:
+17789072071,,82085571052# Canada
+17806660144,,82085571052# Canada
Join via audio:
+1 778 907 2071 Canada
+1 780 666 0144 Canada
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+44 208 080 6592 United Kingdom
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Webinar ID: 820 8557 1052
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdb7dcyFXr
Fantastic Fall
PA Day Camp runs from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm with drop off times between 9:00 am - 9:30 am and pick up times between 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm. Camp is for children ages 6-12.
Attached you will also find the emergency contact form and photo release form as well as an FAQ form.
Emergency Contact and Photo Release Forms.pdf
PD Day - FAQs.doc
PLEASE NOTE: if your child has food allergies, medical, or any special accommodations please submit the forms in advance of your child's start date. This will ensure that any allergies or needs can be properly accommodated.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Education and Outreach Coordinator at education@thunderbaymuseum.com or 807-623-0801 x 116 if you have any further questions about our PA Day Camp.
How was the East End’s location important to the fur trade? Who were the ‘Black Hand’? Who are the people behind the street names of the East End?
Learn the answers as we walk through one of the most historic parts of the city and explore the progression and dynamic change of the last 300 years.
The tour is approximately 1.5km and 60-75 minutes long
These tours welcome participants of all ages, but some of the content may not be suitable for small children. Parental discretion is advised.
Starting Location: Corner of McNaughton and McTavish
The “wild west” history of Fort William.
Who was Bliss Gordon and why was he hanged? Was Peter McKellar’s dinosaur the ‘real McCoy’? Why was Mag Matthews arrested 23 times but never incarcerated?
Find out the answers and more in our Fort William historical walking tour!
The tour is approximately 1.5km and should last 60-75 minutes.
Starting location: 425 Donald St E, Thunder Bay Museum
From the First Spike to The Castle to fresh running water, this is your opportunity to learn about what makes Westfort tick!
What do you know about the old Town Plot? Dive deep into the stories that have kept Westfort alive for over a century.
The tour is approximately 1.5km and should last 60-75 minutes
Starting location: Westfort Footbridge, Intersection of Gore and Brown Streets
The Thunder Bay Museum is once again offering exclusive Behind The Scenes Tours on select dates for Culture Days 2025. This is your chance to glimpse the collection hidden away within the Museum which is not normally accessible to the public.
Send additional questions to collections@thunderbaymuseum.com
Join us at the Thunder Bay Museum for this in-person class. This workshop is designed for ages 12 and up.
Workshop Registration is $35 for Society Members and $40 for non-members per session. To purchase a membership visit here: Membership Application
Future sessions will take place on the last Sunday of each month except December.
Cancelled workshops will be rescheduled.
See below for the class objectives, topics to be covered, information about the instructor, and supplies provided.
Description
Scrapbooking with a group of people is inspiring and a lot of fun. The group encourages one another to try something new, to go outside of their comfort zone. We share ideas, supplies, tools, and lots of laughter.
Each month we will learn about one of the basics of page design which will give you the groundwork from which you can develop your own style. These page designs work with whatever page size you’re working with – even cards. :)
By setting aside a day a month we push ourselves to get some scrapping done. It may be the only day we scrapbook or it could start us on a roll. :)
Come join us. Meet some new scrappers; learn some new scrapbooking tips and techniques and have some fun preserving your photos and memories.
Instructor:
Catherine Mochrie is a retired teacher with over 20 years experience in the education field having worked in the elementary and high school panels as well as with adult literacy. Catherine has delivered workshops on Writing and Communication at various conferences and in her local community. Catherine has been involved with teaching scrapbooking classes for over 15 years in Northwestern Ontario.
Kit and Supplies:
For more information, call Catherine @ 285-1395
Testimonials
“Scrapbooking with Catherine has opened my eyes to the importance of telling the story that belongs to a photograph. We are learning how to identify what needs to be expressed - beyond the photo itself - through the placement, the colours and tones of the background papers, or through additional embellishments. We are learning to use these techniques to make our personal stories and memories into beautiful pages, pages which become documents of a time and place for a future generation.” - Cathy Fretz
“Scrapbooking is helping me connect my genealogy charts, memoirs, history and photos in a lasting visual format. All the materials for the class are included making the getting started process easy. Catherine Mochrie has a lot of experience in scrapbooking and she offers many tips and ideas to help beginners and experienced "scrappers". The facilities at the museum are excellent and parking is a bonus." - RL
The Thunder Bay Museum has a free parking lot on the East side of the building, but there are only 16 spaces. On-street parking and other lots nearby are available, but please note that as of 1 June 2024, the City of Thunder Bay parking rates and times have been expanded as follows.
Short-term meter rates are in effect Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., free on Sunday.
There is a minimum $0.50 fee when parking in a metered space. There is no longer a time limit for metered spaces, and the 15-minute grace period at the end of paid time has been eliminated.
More information about the City of Thunder Bay parking and rates can be found here: https://www.thunderbay.ca/en/city-services/parking-rates-and-locations.aspx
Ageless Grace in a Great Place
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Short-term meter rates are in effect Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., free on Sunday.
There is a minimum $2.00 fee when parking in a metered space. There is no longer a time limit for metered spaces, and the 15-minute grace period at the end of paid time has been eliminated.
Thunder Bay Masjid and Lakehead University Muslim Student Association in partnership with the Thunder Bay Museum and Diversity Thunder Bay invite you to an afternoon with historian Hassam Munir as he uncovers the untold stories of Muslims in Canada and Northern Ontario.
This will be a free, in-person event.
Description:
Join us for a special afternoon with Hassam Munir, historian and educator, as he explores the untold stories of the history of Muslims in Canada, with a particular focus on Northern Ontario. Covering over a century of Muslim presence in Canada, he will highlight their challenges and contributions, the role they played in shaping Canadian society, and the lessons their experiences hold for us today.
Hassam Munir is a Muslim history researcher and educator. He has pursued an MA in History at the University of Toronto. He has led seminars and tours in Canada, the US, Türkiye and Uzbekistan. He has previously worked with the Ontario Historical Society and was recognized by Heritage Toronto as an Emerging Historian in 2017. He is part of the team at Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research.
Limited seating is available. To secure your spot, please sign up here https://thunderbaymuseum1.wildapricot.org/event-6351595
SPEAKER BIO:
Dr. Ernie Epp is a Professor Emeritus of History at Lakehead University. His doctorate was awarded in 1973 by The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and he came to Lakehead University in 1978 to teach Canadian History. He continued to teach Environmental History for ten years after his retirement in 2007. The most important part of his community service was as Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Nipigon--as it was at that time--from 1984 to 1988. He takes pride in launching the campaign in 1988 to twin the Trans-Canada Highway, which is nearing completion between Thunder Bay and Nipigon!
When: Oct 28, 2025 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Free Public Lecture - Dr. Ernie Epp
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83275692408
+14388097799,,83275692408# Canada
+15873281099,,83275692408# Canada
Webinar ID: 832 7569 2408
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbe8Pjo4mJ
TBD
When: Nov 25, 2025 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Free Public Lecture - Bill Reist - Early CPR Elevators
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89468299182
+16475580588,,89468299182# Canada
+17789072071,,89468299182# Canada
Webinar ID: 894 6829 9182
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdCVGQmc0s
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