Bonavista Museum

Established in 1969, the museum began when Jack Miles donated his large personal collection of artifacts and documents. The museum continued to grow steadily, and continues to grow, as local residents donate historical treasures from their homes and properties. The artifacts displayed in the museum offer a glimpse into the lives of fishing families in Bonavista in the eighteenth and early twentieth centuries. The inshore codfishery has always been the foundation of Bonavista's development and the Bonavista museum reflects this reality with its displays. As well, visitors to the museum will find displays on domestic life, medicine and dentistry, and other trades such as carpentry, coopering, and blacksmithing. The museum preserves the heritage of a dynamic and historic community of people who continue to construct their lives from the bounty of the ocean.