The less is the population of a city, the more its locals value their history and culture. Every corner of the world has its past, carefully preserved for future generations, both in ancient legends and tales and in small halls of city museums.

Despite the fact that the population of the Canadian city of Gaspe is only 15 thousand people, it is the place where the history of “French America” originated – when in 1534 a French sailor Jacques Cartier landed on the beach. Collections of the history and national traditions museum, which was founded by a historical society in 1977, tell about this period of Gaspe life, about how the British and later American loyalists appeared in the city and about the rapid development of the provincial city, which became an important port and fishing center.
Two abbots, Claude Allard and Michel Le Moignan, founded the historical society whose collections form now the base of the modern museum. With love and reverent attitude to their native city, they collected information about it bit by bit. They also created a print publication dedicated to the history of Gaspe, which has existed for more than 50 years now. Today the “child” of Allard and Moignan, “Magazine Gaspésie,” which has changed its name several times, is a true pride not only of the museum, but also of all the citizens.

A bright example of the Californian style, the modern building of the Museum of Gaspe was built according to a project of a famous architect Gaston Martin in 1977 and consists of three spacious exhibition halls with separate rooms for an archive and a library. A luxurious permanent exposition has more than 5000 archeological, ethnographic and art exhibits, as well as thousands of documents and photographs, which are stored in its archives. This is not to mention more than 400 temporary exhibitions, which were successfully organized in the museum and outside it, with only one goal – to familiarize residents of other cities and countries with the fascinating history and culture of an old Canadian city of Gaspe.