Fonds - Elgin-St. Thomas Archives Association fonds

The Elgin-St. Thomas Archives Association was formed in 1999, and took a focused approach towards developing an archives. The group secured a broad cross-section of membership not only from the local heritage community, but also from local businesses and professional organizations (for instance, the legal community). The group committed themselves to building strategic partnerships and fundraising on behalf of the archives, in essence acting as a “friends” organization for the program. After the County’s formal attempts to establish an archives began in the late 1980s, and ran into some obstacles after a suitable space could not be found, and with fiscal restraints in the mid-1990s, the moral and potential financial support of the newly-formed Elgin-St. Thomas Archives Association re-affirmed County Council’s own view that there was still strong community “buy-in” to establishing an archives and that the time for action had come.
In less than a year, more than one hundred concerned citizens, groups and corporations joined the ESTAA as members, with strong representation from the Law community, who perhaps more than most, understood the need for an Archives in Elgin County to preserve and protect records.
As of June 2000, the association was incorporated. Being incorporated as a non-profit organization allowed the Association to apply for gramts from available foundations and government sources. During the year, presentations were made to both City and County Councils with favourable responses.
The Elgin-St. Thomas Archives Association disbanded in 2013.