The Thunder Bay Museum occupies the handsome 1912 former court house on Donald Street and tells the story of the region — Anishinaabe history, the fur trade, the railway era, the grain boom, and the merger of Fort William and Port Arthur. The collection includes Indigenous artefacts, fur trade material, and a remarkable archive of historic photographs.
It is modest in size but well curated, and the building itself — high ceilings, marble columns, a stained glass dome over the central hall — is worth seeing. Entry is by donation. A useful first stop for anyone trying to make sense of how Thunder Bay came to be.