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History of Museum

The Kenora Town Council founded the Lake of the Woods Museum in 1964. In that same year, the Land Titles building was transferred from the Province to the Town and served as the first museum.

When the museum was established, the collection centred on the artifacts of Captain Frank Edwards, an Indian agent in Kenora from 1920 until his death in 1945. As the collection grew, the display and storage facilities in the original museum proved to be inadequate and by 1982 serious consideration was being given to a new building. In August of 1986, as a result of a successful fundraising campaign and grants from the Town of Kenora, the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture, and the Government of Canada, our new museum building was opened to the public.

Indian agent Frank Edwards (in white) assists with the installing of the Chief and Councillors at Rat Portage Reserve -- June 3, 1932

Today, the collection numbers in excess of 25,000 articles. Many displays are changed annually and feature First Nations and pioneer artifacts, natural history, minerals, textiles, pictorial and archival material, all illustrating the history of the Lake of the Woods and the surrounding area.