The Sudbury Region Police Museum is reopening in their new digs at 128 Larch St. on May 15, with a grand opening to take place from 5-7 p.m.
The displays, highlighting the history of policing in Greater Sudbury all the way back to 1883, were previously located on the third floor of Greater Sudbury Police Service headquarters.
A retooling of the space at the behest of police administration resulted in them losing the space and shifting to their new location during the pandemic.
After some COVID-related delays, they’ll begin taking on guests Monday.
“It was worth the wait, and now we’re finally able to open,” said museum chair Heather Lewis, who created the displays more than 20 years ago.
The museum’s exhibits follow the history of policing, with the first town constable, Frank Gagne, appointed in 1891. Along with policing, he inspected chimneys and stovepipes in the area.
The first chief of police was George Gunyou, who was hired as chief constable in 1906 for $900 per year and became chief in 1908.
“As much as we speak about policing in Sudbury, it also explains history through a different lens,” Lewis said, noting the displays also follow trends and technologies over the years.
Call boxes, for example, were installed throughout the city in 1963 so police officers could check into headquarters without going all the way back to the station.
Although the existing displays have shifted over to the new space, they’re also working on a new digital display highlighting the stories of the eight local police officers who have died in the line of duty.
They’re selling 18-month calendars, available at the museum, to fundraise for the exhibit.
Regardless of the upcoming display, the officers’ stories are included in the walls of displays already up at the museum, beginning with the 1931 death of Const. Albert Nault.
He was patrolling his beat, which included “the rough area of the CNR freight sheds,” according to the display, which notes he was later found shot dead. Despite a $200 reward for useful information, the murder remained unsolved.
In 2008, the bridge on Highway 17 at the Bancroft Drive overpass was named in his memory.
The latest officer to be killed was Sgt. Rick McDonald, who was hit by a van involved ina high-speed chase on July 28, 1999. He’d placed a spike belt on Highway 69 to stop the van when it hit him.
The museum’s grand reopening coincides with the Police Week, whose theme this year is Building Bridges. Various other activities are also taking place, including coffee with a cop at Tim Hortons in Lively on May 16 beginning at 8 a.m.
The Sudbury Region Police Museum’s grand reopening will take place on May 15, from 5-7 p.m., during which Lewis said anyone interested in seeing what the museum is all about is encouraged to do so.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
