Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
- Graphic material
- Textual record
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1947-2001 (Creation)
- Creator
- City of St. Thomas Engineering Department
- Place
- St. Thomas
Physical description area
Physical description
2,055 photographs; b&w and col.
109 slides, col.
1 volume
0.7 cm of textual records
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The City of St. Thomas was incorporated on March 4, 1881. Early services faced challenges due to the small infrastructure at the time. The City Engineering office was crucial in developing a system of waterworks and sewage treatment that improved the lives of City residents, beginning with a brick sewer down Elgin Street in 1882, and continuing with a bylaw for the creation of a waterworks in 1890. The latter went so smoothly that it was supplying the City with water since January 1891. The City Engineer at the time, James A. Bell, also designed a fire hall around 1882.
The Engineering Department continued to maintain pre-existing sewers and install new ones, branching the sewer system out as the city expanded, including going into the Homedale area. During this time, the City documented the installation or maintenance of pre-existing sewers through photographs, as well as other projects under their jurisdiction.
Custodial history
Records were given to the Archives by Aaron VanOorspronk, Senior Technologist with the City of St. Thomas.
Scope and content
The City of St. Thomas Engineering Department fonds consists primarily of photographs, both black and white and in colour, documenting structural defects in sidewalks and sewers, repairs, road widenings and other projects, alongside general documentation of roads, sewers, and buildings in St. Thomas, primarily from the 1940s through the 1970s.
This fonds consists of three series:
- Events: Documentation, including reports, clippings, and photographs, surrounding large or notable events in which the City Engineer or Engineering Department was involved.
- Photographs: Photographs documenting paving issues, sewer or maintenance work, or other projects done by City Engineering crew, arranged alphabetically by street name. Also includes a handful of miscellaneous images, filed in original order, documenting places, events, or items, such as dog pounds or storm damage.
- Projects: Photographs, slides, and textual documents relating to more recent projects, from the 1970s up until 1998, often documenting the different stages of a large-scale project.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Open