Riel House : A Critical Review

Abstract

A very critical study of the preservation strategies employed at Riel House. Riel House was opened to the public by Parks Canada in the summer of 1980, after almost a decade of research and restoration. Situated at 330 River Road, St. Vital, Manitoba, it was acquired by the Manitoba Historical Society in April 1968, and was subsequently transferred to the federal government on 15 April 1970. The house, operated on contract by the St. Boniface Historical Society, is a three room structure, consisting of a living area, two bedrooms, and an undeveloped upstairs. Julie Lagimodiere, Riel's mother, occupied one bedroom, and the other was presumably for Marguerite, Riel's wife. There were other bedrooms in the 1880s. The house has been restored to the period just after Riel's lying "in state" there in 1885.