The Archives of Ontario are the

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

for the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Founded in 1903 as the Bureau of Archives, the archives are now under the responsibility of the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery. The main offices of the archive are located at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in Toronto.

History

The Bureau of Archives, as it was originally known, was first located in the

Ontario Legislative Building The Ontario Legislative Building (french: L'édifice de l'Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is a structure in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It houses the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the viceregal suite of the Lieutenant Governor ...

, under the leadership of Alexander Fraser (1860–1936), a Scottish-born Toronto journalist, academic and militia officer who held the position of Provincial Archivist from 1903 to 1935. During his tenure, Fraser remained a prolific author and amongst other things prepared annual reports for publication describing progress in making records available to the public, and presenting the full texts of major document collections. He summarized his vision for the scope and work of the Archives in a paper he presented to the American Historical Association at Buffalo in 1911. In it he described the popularity of the Archives annual report volumes amongst historians and members of the public. In the Depression era, the Archives was put on a precarious footing by Premier Mitch Hepburn's desire to close it down as a cost-cutting measure. Fraser was targeted for retirement and his assistant James J. Talman became acting head while also tasked with heading the Legislative Library. Talman was able to save the Archives by agreeing to move its office and collections to basement vaults. Talman eventually took new employment as Chief Librarian at the University of Western Ontario, where he started an archives collection that became the Regional History Division at UWO. Fraser's private papers as Provincial Archivist found their first home there. The Ontario Archives was not returned to a solid footing until the late 1940s under Helen McClung. The Archives moved to the Canadiana Building (14 Queen's Park Crescent West) on the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

campus in 1951, at which time it was known as the Department of Public Records and Archives. During the period the Archives was located there, staff archivists, including Edwin Guillet, became well known for their research work in support of the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board - which placed historical site plaques throughout the province - and for preparation of historical surveys of many regions of the province that were published as part of a series of volumes describing the work of

conservation authorities in Ontario Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

- also restricted from Internet access by Crown copyright. The Archives relocated to 77 Grenville Street in 1972 and its name was also changed to the Archives of Ontario. The reading room at the Grenville building closed on March 26, 2009, as part of the move to new facilities in North York. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Archives of Ontario building on the

grounds, which also houses the York University Research Tower, was on April 30, 2007. The groundbreaking was attended by former Minister of Government Services

Gerry Phillips Gerry Phillips (born September 11, 1940) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represented the eastern Toronto riding of Scarborough—Agincourt from 1987 to 2011. He serv ...

and former York University President and Vice-Chancellor

Lorna Marsden Lorna Marsden, (born March 6, 1942) is a Canadian sociologist, academic administrator, and former politician. She is the former President and Vice-Chancellor of both Wilfrid Laurier University and York University, and a former member of the Sen ...

. The building was opened to the public on April 2, 2009, and is expected to be the site of the Archives for at least the next thirty-five years. In addition to preserving the records of the Ontario government, the Archives has from the outset actively sought records of private individuals and organizations that reflect Ontario's history. In the words of Alexander Fraser, "The Province has been so long entirely neglected that when I undertook to organize the department I decided that the most valuable service I could render to the public was to acquire, to collect, and safely preserve whatever material I could find, believing the day would soon come when the value of such material would be fully realized and the necessary office assistance provided to enable me to make the accumulated archives conveniently accessible to the public." Notable private records include the

fonds In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poe ...

Eaton's The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew ...

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, Military Cross, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs ...

, and

Moriyama and Teshima Architects 270px, Lake Biwa from Moriyama is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 85,485 in 34366 households and a population density of 1533.63 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Mo ...

List of Archivists of Ontario

The head of the Archives has been known as the Archivist of Ontario since 1923, prior to that they were known as the Provincial Archivist.

History

List of Archivists of Ontario

References

External links