City of Peterborough

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Scope note(s)

  • Early sketches and drawings of Peterborough are located in the following fonds: 83-1022 copy of an 1828 sketch by Basil Hall made with the Camera Lucida; 95-1004 unknown engraving [Bartlett?] 1882; 95-1017 sketch of Government House by Mary Sanford 1832 (copy); 02-1002 composite panorama of Ashburnham from St. John's Church ca. 1874 (a representation produced in 2001); 89-1065 Peterborough, U.C. on the Otonabee River signed
  • Special Collections maintains an impressive collection of books relating to the City of Peterborough. The "Trent Collection" contains all the obvious published histories such as _Peterborough, Land of Shining Waters; Peterborough Scrapbook...1825-1975_ Poole's _A Sketch of the Early Settlement...of the Town of Peterborough_ ; Jones' and Dyer's _Peterborough the Electric City_ and Guillet's _Valley of the Trent_. These titles represent only the most obvious sources; all of these (and many more) are catalogued on [Omni](https://www.trentu.ca/omni) and are available, for reference use only, in our Reading Room.
  • We also hold many idiosyncratic items in the [pamphlet collection](https://archives.trentu.ca/index.php/pamphlet-collection), in the [map collection](https://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/maps) and in the vertical unpublished [research files](https://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/vertical_research_files). Also pertinent to the study of Peterborough are all the extant [newspapers for the area which are available on microfilm](https://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/newspapers). In addition, various citizens of Peterborough have written historical columns for newspapers. We have the papers here in the archives for some of these authors. Their research files and copies of their columns can be a rich source of information. See, for example, the papers of [Helen Marryat](https://archives.trentu.ca/index.php/69-001), [Richard Choate](https://archives.trentu.ca/index.php/86-027), [Howard Pammett](https://archives.trentu.ca/index.php/77-010) and [Wilson Craw](https://archives.trentu.ca/index.php/86-003).
  • One important source of information on Peterborough often overlooked is the "Dobbin Index." Francis H. Dobbin was a journalist working in Peterborough from 1864 until 1914. During this time he collected news items and also wrote brief descriptive essays. These are catalogued (F 5547 .P4D622) and are available to researchers in our Reading Room. Some of his longer pieces were published posthumously as Our Old Home Town. It too is catalogued (F 5547 .P4D6) and can be accessed in the Reading Room.
  • The subject headings for the "Dobbin Index" of newspaper references, synopses, notes and essays are: 1. Introduction 2. Biographies 3. Churches 4. Education 5. Events 6. Fires 7. Industries 8. Institutions and Societies 9. Military 10. Municipal 11. Politics 12. Railway 13. Trent Canal
  • It was in May of 1819 that the first settlers came to the region in Newcastle District which is now known as Peterborough. One of these settlers was Adam Scott (1796-1838), and he built a saw and grist mill on the west bank of the Otonabee River (at the location were King St. now crosses the river). This location, then known as Scott's Plains, was to become the City of Peterborough. The area had been previously surveyed by Samuel Wilmot in 1818, and at that time, he recommended to the surveyor general that land be set aside for the development of a town at the junction of Smith, Douro, North Monaghan and Otonabee Townships, along the shores of the Otonabee River. In 1825, the recommended townsite was surveyed again by Richard Birdsall and the creation of a town plan was undertaken. From 1819 to 1825, the only inhabitants of Scott's Plains were Adam Scott's family and a few hired men. This changed with the arrival of the Peter Robinson immigrants in 1825 who numbered close to 2,000 people. Many of them settled in the townships surrounding Scott's Plains, which was renamed in 1826, to Peterboro by Sir Peregrine Maitland, in honour of Peter Robinson. By 1827, there were 20 buildings located within the townsite, and in the summer of 1828, another 20 houses were built. Shops, taverns, schools and churches began to sprout within the town boundaries. Timber, and then lumber, dominated the Peterborough industrial base from 1825 to 1875. But this was not the only form of industry. Peterborough also had a tannery, three iron foundries, and several woolen and grain mills. The location of Peterborough along the shores of the Otonabee was extremely important in the development of Peterborough as a manufacturing centre. The river provided not only water power, but a means of transportation for both people and goods. In 1890, Edison Electric, later known as Canadian General Electric, set up a plant in Peterborough, and by 1892, it became the site of the CGE head office for Canadian Operations. In 1900, Quaker Oats also came to Peterborough. Not only did Quaker employ a substantial number of people, they also used locally grown grains in the production of their cereals. The period between 1875 and 1930 was one of rapid industrial growth in Peterborough. As well, the population was constantly increasing. In 1838, the population was between 800 and 900, and by the 1852 census, it had risen to 2,191. In 1871 it had increased to 4,611 and it became necessary for Peterborough to annex land from the surrounding townships. In 1872, 239 acres were annexed from Smith, 50 acres from Douro, and 581 acres from North Monaghan. After the annexation, the population was close to 7,000 inhabitants. Peterborough officially became a city in 1904 and continued to grow and by 1921, the population had increased to 21,000.

Source note(s)

    Display note(s)

      Hierarchical terms

      City of Peterborough

        Equivalent terms

        City of Peterborough

          Associated terms

          City of Peterborough

            33 Archival description results for City of Peterborough

            33 results directly related Exclude narrower terms
            17-001 · Fonds · 1949-2015

            Fonds consists of personal and business correspondence, notes, reports, minutes, invitations, and other documents pertaining to the life and career of Thomas H.B. Symons.

            Symons, Thomas H.B.
            15-006 · Fonds · 1962-2013

            Fonds includes personal and business correspondence, notes, reports, minutes, invitations, and other documents. Major categories include Association of Commonwealth Universities; Association for Commonwealth Studies; British-North American Committee; Symons Trust; Symons Lecture on the State of Canadian Confederation, Confederation Centre, Prince Edward Island; Peterborough, Police Chairmanship, Panel on the Trent-Severn Waterway; Trent University; Education; Statistics, Canadian Studies, Bilingualism, Northern Canada; Ontario Heritage Trust; Historica; Bata Shoe Museum; various political and public affairs; and Downsview Park.

            Symons, Thomas H.B.
            11-001 · Fonds · 1958-2010

            Fonds includes personal and business correspondence, notes, and documents. Also included are greeting cards, invitations, and photographs. Major categories include Trent University, Police Services Board (Peterborough), Trent-Severn Waterways, Bagnani Endowment Trust & Vogrie, Broadview Press, Ontario Heritage Press, Association of Commonwealth Studies, and Association of Commonwealth Universities.

            Symons, Thomas H.B.
            01-003 · Fonds · 1929-1999

            Fonds consists of personal records of Thomas H.B. Symons relating to his career and to his family. Included are records of his wife, Christine Symons, his children, Mary, Jeffrey, and Ryerson Symons, his father, Harry Lutz Symons, including his father's manuscript for "Three Ships West", and his mother, Dorothy Sarah (Bull) Symons. Also included are materials relating to Professor Symons' activities on various boards and committees, addresses, articles, manuscripts, typescripts, and correspondence, documents and notes concerning Trent University, Association of Commonwealth Universities, Celanese Canada, Science Council of Canada, Department of External Affairs, Royal Society of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, etc.. Also included are photographs of Thomas H.B. Symons, Christine Symons, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

            Symons, Thomas H.B.
            97-019 · Fonds · 1963-1996

            This fonds consists of the personal records of Professor Thomas H.B. Symons relating to his activities on various boards and committees as well as Trent University. It includes correspondence; addresses given; articles written; as well as manuscripts, typescripts and research notes, photographs and video tapes.

            Symons, Thomas H.B.
            Susan Neale fonds
            17-006 · Fonds · 1938; 1957-2015

            Fonds includes reports and photographs pertaining to Susan Neale’s archaeological studies and career in the field of archaeology. The materials focus on Ontario, Nunavut, and England and include photographs and slides taken by Neale of Hambledon Hill, Edmund Point, Nettilling Lake, and Roche Bay. Many of the Roche Bay photographs are of lithics analyzed by Neale for her Trent University Master’s thesis. Also included in the fonds are personal, academic, and family records.

            Neale, Susan
            16-002 · Fonds · ca. 1940s-2014

            Fonds consists of two boxes of materials related to the life of Spencer J. Harrison, artist and gay activist.

            Harrison, Spencer J.
            Robert Annett fonds
            99-002 · Fonds · 1964-1973

            This fonds consists of papers regarding Professor Annett's Ph.D. dissertation, and includes data and post-dissertation data. Also included are closed records relating to Science 101a and 101b at Trent University.

            Annett, Robert
            10-007 · Fonds · 1883-1885; 1908-1973

            Forty-seven volumes and eight boxes of records relating to Peterborough Teachers' College. Includes sessional reports, training registers, practice teaching records, 1908 to 1968; also registration and record cards, 1946 to 1973. Also included is a Public School Daily Register for Bobcaygeon, 1883-1885.

            Peterborough Teachers' College
            01-1002 · Collection · 1930's

            This collection consists of 14 photograph negatives of Peterborough Normal School, undated, and portraying people and the grounds of the school. The negatives are enclosed in a J.J. Gilfillan, Orono, Ontario, photographer's envelope, with the name Calvin Hamm, Orono, Ontario written on it. Calvin Hamm was born on March 28, 1909 at Orono, son of Ernest Hamm and Florence Hughson. He was appointed Principal of the Morley Consolidated School at Stratton in September 1935 and received his B.A. at Western University in June 1943. He later taught high school in Fort Frances (taken from a typed information enclosure which accompanies the collection). Also included is a Peterborough Normal School Christmas Card, undated; a Peterborough Normal School Literary Society invitation, 1930; and a photograph of the "Floating Bridge, Bridgenorth, Chemong Lake, 1933."

            Peterborough Normal School
            94-015 · Fonds · 1905-1977, 1991, 2002

            This fonds consists of 58 volumes of the Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School yearbook called "The Echoes"; 2 Minute Books for the Girls' Athletic Association from 1908 to 1923; 13 scattered volumes of "Commencement Exercises" between 1937 and 1951; and 1 volume of "Reports of the Business Board of the Collegiate Echoes of the P.C.I." dated 1916-1918. Additional materials were donated by Dr. Fern Rahmel in 2002 on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of P.C.V.S.

            Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational Institute
            97-1026 · Item · 1913

            This photograph includes portraits of 66 male graduates and 62 female graduates of the 1912-13 Peterborough Business College graduating class. Also included in the photograph are portraits of six instructors and administrators.

            Peterborough Business College
            Paul Wilson fonds
            03-007 · Fonds · 1966-2001

            Fonds consists of correspondence, photographs, compact disks, publications, and other materials related to Paul Wilson's association with Trent University as athletic director, and as municipal politician in the City of Peterborough, Ontario.

            Wilson, Paul S.B.
            96-008 · Fonds · 1974

            This fonds consists of transcripts of interviews with Peterborough and area citizens concerning their perceptions of the social, cultural, and political aspects of life in Peterborough from the early 1900s to 1974. There are also three cassette tapes forming one interview with Lorna Cotton-Thomas.

            88-014 · Collection · 1846-1962

            This fonds consists of ledgers, day books and other record books, mostly unidentified as to exact name and location of the business. All were situated in the Peterborough/Cobourg/Norwood/Marmora area.

            04-002 · Fonds · 1845-1999

            Fonds consists of photographs, genealogical information, and legal documents pertaining to the Chase and Oliver families; diaries of Marjorie Oliver; documents relating to her teaching career; school yearbooks; correspondence; and greeting cards including several Valentines. Also included is a North Harvey Cheese & Butter Manufacturing Company Ltd. ledger dated 1911-1920.

            Oliver, Marjorie McLean
            John Marsh fonds
            03-002 · Fonds · 1971-1999

            Fonds consists of materials relating to conferences, colloquiums, and workshops in which Professor John Marsh was involved, and to courses taught by Professor Marsh at Trent University. Also included is miscellaneous correspondence, and reports, submissions, papers, articles, and books written by and edited by Professor Marsh. Included in the fonds are four photographs and six cassette tapes.

            Marsh, John
            23-006 · Fonds · 1988-2021 (predominant 2016-2021)

            Fonds consists of board meeting minutes, planning committee minutes, newspaper clippings, newsletters, promotional material, and other records documenting the activities of Jamaican Self-Help (Peterborough). Some of these activities include managing volunteers, fundraising efforts around addressing poverty in Jamaica particularly in schools and with students through school programming, and communication with its supporters and donors.

            Jamaican Self-Help (Peterborough)
            17-002 · Fonds · 1977-2016

            Fonds is comprised of textual documents and photographs pertaining to Jamaican Self-Help (Peterborough). Included are student papers and Jamaican-generated research papers, mission statement, constitution and by-laws, manuals, tributes to John Ganley, Rosemary Ganley lectures, photographs, reports, policies, press clippings, research, correspondence, and papers relating to several partner developmental organizations.

            Jamaican Self-Help (Peterborough)
            Greg Doran fonds
            19-005 · Fonds · 1975-1995

            Fonds consists of documents from Greg Doran’s education in Peterborough beginning at St. Alphonsus in 1975-1983, followed by St. Peter’s High School 1983-1988, Trent University in 1988-1992, and Sir Sanford Fleming College from 1994-1995.

            Doran, Greg
            10-002 · Fonds · 1887-2009

            Fonds consists of diaries, photographs, correspondence, certificates, play scripts and playbills, research material, speeches, short stories, reviews and critiques, genealogies, newspaper clippings and greeting cards related to the life of Fern Rahmel. Also included is a panoramic photograph entitled Sirmilik Hoodoos Panorama by Dr. Roberta Bondar, framed and presented to Rahmel by Trent University.

            Rahmel, Fern
            02-007 · Fonds · 1959-1976

            Fonds consists of Douglas Sadler's correspondence, notes, papers, addresses, and teaching materials related to outdoor education. Included are records related to a course for teachers of Native children (1970), and to Sadler's participation in an Art and Design Education in the Atlantic Provinces Conference in Halifax (1973).

            Sadler, Douglas
            95-016 · Fonds · 1898-1993

            This addition to the fonds consists of articles and booklets written by Frank Morris; manuscripts and published articles by Douglas Sadler; correspondence, minutes of meetings relating to Sadler's involvment in environmental and naturalist issues and activities; correspondence relating to Teacher's College and several issues of the Young Naturalist.

            Sadler, Douglas