History of the museum
As early as 1985, the idea of creating a cheddar cheese museum in the old cheese factory built by his grandfather Adélard in 1895 began to take root in Albert Perron’s mind. Determined to see this idea become reality, he contacted the ministère des Affaires culturelles (Ministry of Cultural Affairs) to evaluate the possibilities for this project. In 1986, assured of the support of the Ministry and the Municipality of Saint Prime, he participated in a large ethnological study that became the important Étude ethnohistorique sur la Fromagerie Perron (Ethno-historical Study of the Perron Cheese Factory) undertaken by Lise Fournier, an ethnologist from Quebec. An interim committee was formed in 1987 to restore and showcase this hundred-year-old cheese factory.

Then in 1989, the ministère des Affaires culturelles, recognizing the historical and heritage value of both the building and the old tools, awarded it the statute of a National Heritage Site and classified the cheese factory as an historical monument. Subsequently, on February 12, 1990, the Corporation de la vieille fromagerie Perron de Saint Prime was duly constituted and received its letters of patent on December 2, 1990.

In June 1991, a second document dealing with the interpretation and development of the old Perron cheese factory was deposited before the municipal corporation by Ms. Fournier. In consideration of the report’s highly encouraging conclusions, Albert Perron donated the old cheese factory, its tools and the land it was built on to the Corporation through a notarised act on April 9, 1992. Consequently, the Corporation began the work necessary to restore the building and develop an interpretation project. In the end, thanks to the tenacity of the members of the Corporation and to the financial support of its partners, the Musée du fromage cheddar opened its doors to the public in July 1992.

Over the years, the Corporation has continued to develop the rich cultural and tourist potential of the site. So much so that in 2002, the Musée du fromage cheddar celebrated its ten years its existence with great pomp and ceremony, a testimony to its great vitality and its profound desire for continuity. A measure of its success is that the Museum won the Grand Prize for Regional Tourism in 1994 in the «innovation» category.

The Musée du fromage cheddar is a non-profit organization, accredited and funded by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec (Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications). Through its entrance fees, its souvenir shop and fundraising campaigns that it regularly organises, the Museum helps finance its operations. The Museum is also a member of the Société des musées québécois (Quebec Museum Society), the Canadian Association of Museums, of the Association touristique régionale (Regional Tourism Association) and of the Réseau muséal et patrimonial du Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean (the heritage and museum network).