Archives

The archives of the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society holds approximately 410 linear meters of textual records, 1,900 maps and plans, 500,000 photographic images, and extensive ready-reference files on historical, biographical and architectural themes.

Its mandate covers the history of Northwestern Ontario, with a special focus on the City of Thunder Bay and its district. Collections include personal papers and the records of businesses, governments, labour unions, and community and military organizations.

The archives is supplemented by a 2,200-volume library and complete reprography services. It is open to the public from 9am to 5pm, Mondays to Fridays. Appointments are preferred.

View Reproduction Fees

Archive Records & Fonds

The records of businesses and labour unions in the City of Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay district, particularly from the 1870s to 1960 but also including records from as early as 1806. Significant collections include the Silver Islet Mining Company, Thomas Marks & Co., Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co., Royal Edward Hotels, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Thunder Bay station, C.B.Q.

List of Business and Labour Fonds

The records of community organizations in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario, primarily from the late 19th century to the present. Includes notable economic organizations such as the Thunder Bay Chambers of Commerce, the Lakehead Planning Board, and the Intercity Development Association, but also social reform groups (The Lord’s Day Alliance and the I.O.D.E., for example) and those geared mostly for recreation such as the Lakehead Film Society and the YMCA. Ethnic clubs are also included here.

List of Community Organization Fonds

Personal papers encompass a wide range of subjects from politics and industrial history to education and the arts. Each deals with some aspect of Northwestern Ontario or, more specifically, with Thunder Bay and its predecessors, Fort William and Port Arthur. There are fonds from Saul Laskin, Thunder Bay’s first mayor; Anne J. Barrie, suffragist; A.T. Hill, Communist leader; Wendell Beckwith, scientist; Helmer Borg, labour organizer; Andrew Dick, lighthouse keeper; Richard Faries, missionary; and William Wilson, farmer, to name just a few. Most fonds are small in size.

List of Personal Papers Fonds

Primarily the records of the Lake Superior Regiment during the two World Wars, but also including some records of peacetime service between the wars and after 1945. Includes the 96th Lake Superior Regiment, the 52nd Canadian Infantry Battalion, the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade, the Lake Superior Regiment (Motor), and the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment.

List of Military Organizations Fonds

The Thunder Bay Museum is not an official repository for the records of any government. However, from time to time records created by governments do become part of the Society’s collections, and fonds have been created for these records. These governments include the cities of Fort William, Port Arthur, and Thunder Bay, as well as the Municipalities of Neebing and Shuniah. A few Provincial and Federal records are also available.

List of Government & Judicial Records Fonds

Ethnic archives are hard to define precisely. Below, however, are several fonds that deal at least in part with ethnic themes, either through their creators or through their activities. Each of these fonds is also listed in the categories above.

List of Ethnic Fonds

Reproduction Fees

These fees apply to reproduction of material for personal use, and include utilization for personal, private, academic or non-profit publications. Separate fees apply for commercial publication, see below.

To make an appointment to browser our photo collection or archives, please contact us.

  • Digital, High-Resolution, Scanned Photographs
    • Regular: $15
    • Large Format (up to 20×24″): $30
  • Audio and Video Recordings: $50
    Includes Reel Memories of the Lakehead
  • Photocopies: $0.25/copy

Commercial Publication Fees

These fees are over and above the reproduction fees outlined above, and pertain to publishing material for uses other than those previously identified.

  • Not-for-Profit Museum/Gallery
    • Photos: $25
    • Audio/Video: $50
  • Books/Serials (Print run under 2000)
    • Inside Illustration: $25
    • Cover Illustration: $50
  • Books/Serials (Print run over 2000)
    • Inside Illustration: $50
    • Cover Illustration: $100
  • Posters (Promotional)
    • Local: $25
    • National: $100
  • Broadcast Film/Television
    • Local or Educational: $50 photos | $100 audio/visual
    • National: $100 photos | $200 audio/visual
  • Web-based content (Commercial)
    • Photos: $100
    • Audio/Visual: $200

Gallery Hours

Summer:
June 15 - Labour Day
Open Daily 11am - 5pm


Winter:
September 5 to June 14 (excluding Holidays)
Tues - Sun 1pm - 5pm

Contact

Thunder Bay Museum
425 Donald St E.
Thunder Bay, ON P7E 5V1

(807) 623-0801

[email protected]

Operating & Project Grants

City of Thunder Bay
Government of Ontario
Government of Canada

Website Redevelopment Funder

Ontario | Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport

Land Acknowledgement

The Thunder Bay Museum acknowledges the original custodians of this land and pay our respect to the elders – past, present, and future – for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture, and the hopes of Indigenous Peoples. We would also like to recognize that the Thunder Bay Museum is on the traditional land of the Fort William First Nation signatory to the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850, and to acknowledge the role of the Métis Settlement in the development of our community.

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