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City of St. Thomas Engineering Department fonds
- Museum / Archive
- Elgin County Archives
- Part Of
- City of St. Thomas Engineering Department fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- GMD
- graphic material
- multiple media
- textual records
- Date Range
- 1948-2001
- Accession Number
- 2018-26
- Storage Location
- R8 S5 Sh3 B2-5
- Museum / Archive
- Elgin County Archives
- Part Of
- City of St. Thomas Engineering Department fonds
- Creator
- City of St. Thomas Engineering Department
- Description Level
- Fonds
- Accession Number
- 2018-26
- Storage Room
- Archives Storage Rm. 110
- Storage Location
- R8 S5 Sh3 B2-5
- GMD
- graphic material
- multiple media
- textual records
- Date Range
- 1948-2001
- Physical Description
- 2,055 photographs; b&w and col.
- 109 slides, col.
- 1 volume
- 0.7 cm of textual records
- Extent
- 54 cm
- History / Biographical
- 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:
- 1. Events: Documentation, including reports, clippings, and photographs, surrounding large or notable events in which the City Engineer or Engineering Department was involved.
- 2. 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.
- 3. 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.
- Name Access
- St. Thomas (Ont.)
- Subject Access
- Engineers
- Municipal Corporations
- Municipal Offices
- Municipal Services
- Public Buildings
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