Photo Opportunities at the Police and Corrections Museum

Submitted on January 5, 2012 - 8:19am

Would you like to take some creative photos for your Facebook page? Are you searching for a location to stage some interesting family photos? Maybe you just need a memento to add interest to stories from your summer/winter vacation. If this sounds like you, the Rotary Museum of Police and Corrections has what you are looking for!

At the Rotary Museum of Police and Corrections there are several opportunities to take imaginative photos. Around the entrance is a metal cage which can be closed to simulate the jailing of friends or family members. For larger groups, there is also a set of jail bars across the inside of the museum. Since the door of the cell is open, large groups can pretend to be “escaping” lock-up.

In the nest addition to the museum, people can act as if they are awaiting trial. This new artefact is a tall grey cell with benches along either side; which was used by the RCMP to hold prisoners until their trial. The names of the prisoners held in the cell are even etched all over the walls.

For individual photos, visors can stand against “the Rack” to create the illusion of a pending punishment. On “the Rack” prisoners were whipped with a cat-o-nine tails for a prescribed number of lashes. The Rack was used until the mid-1960’s, in addition to jail time, as punishment for offences ranging from sex crimes to murder. Generally, punishment of this sort was administered twice in a sentence, upon entering and leaving prison. As you can see, this museum contains a wealth of inventive photo opportunities.

So stop by the Rotary Museum of Police and Corrections today to see these and other artefacts of Prince Albert’s RCMP, police and corrections history and perhaps stage a photo for yourself.
We are located just off Marquis Road at the south end of 2nd Ave. W, adjacent to the Tourism Center. Please phone the Historical Museum to make an appointment.

Allison McQueen

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Prince Albert Historical Society

The Prince Albert Historical Society is one of the oldest historical societies in Western Canada, first established in 1886 by residents who realized that the previous generation and they themselves were making history by developing Prince Albert and the surrounding region. A fire in 1890 at the Nisbet Academy destroyed the artifacts and records that the Society had collected, which also put an end to the Society for a time. In 1923 Professor Arthur Morton, the City of Prince Albert and citizens interested in local history reorganized the Historical Society. The Society established a museum in the Nisbet church located in Kinsmen (then Bryant) park and an archive in 1932. The museum was moved to the Prince Albert Court House on Central Avenue in 1946. The Nisbet Church was again established as a museum in 1972 and operated until 1975. When the Fire Department vacated the original fire hall in 1975 the City of Prince Albert invited the Society to establish a permanent museum in that building. Since 1977 when the permanent museum opened to the public the Prince Albert Historical Society has been based at the appropriately historic original fire hall at 10 River Street East. The Bill Smiley Archives are named in honour of the man who has done more to preserve Prince Albert history than any other, having spent years collecting and organizing important historical items. Today over 15,000 photographs. 300,000 negatives and 15,000 documents are kept at the Historical Museum. These records are a significant source for information on Prince Albert, the surrounding region and all of Canada. Access to the archives is available to the public and if you are interested in acquiring information please check our archives page. As of 2009 our Society is made up of 55 members and 14 member volunteer board of directors. Membership fees are $ 10.00 per year. We hold many annual events including the spring Crocus Tea, participate in the downtown Street Fair and host a Christmas Party. During the summer season a staff of 13 tour guides keeps the museums open while during the rest of the year the museums can visited accompanied with one of our dedicated volunteer members. The Prince Albert Historical Society is committed to preserving local history and being able to showcase it to local residents and visitors alike.

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