- Established in 2015, the York Region Archives is celebrating its 10th anniversary next week.
- The Archives’ holdings range from 19th-century government documents, maps, and diaries to photographs, police ledgers, and even York Region’s COVID-19 emergency declaration.
- Materials from the Archives have supported 15 exhibitions at the York Region Administrative Centre and local museums.
- Residents can visit the Archives by making an appointment, and staff can assist with research.
- Community members may donate family or business records, photographs, scrapbooks, and other historically significant items from the area.
- Accepted donations are preserved and organized to ensure their long-term accessibility and survival.
On Dec. 23, 1841, Edward William Thomson was appointed the first warden of the Home District, overseeing an area that included Northumberland, Durham, Simcoe, and York counties in what had been the Province of Quebec.
The position was created following the 1841 Act of Union, which merged Upper and Lower Canada, established the Province of Canada, and delivered a representative government to the region. The first meeting of the Home District Municipal Council was held in Toronto the following February, beginning more than 183 years of municipal governance in York Region.
Thomson’s commission document from Queen Victoria is the earliest artifact in the York Region Archives, followed by the first set of the Home District Municipal Council’s by-laws and meeting minutes. York Region formalized the Archives and its mandate on Sept. 24, 2015, after decades of collecting records and artifacts, designating it “the official steward of York Region’s documentary heritage.”
To mark the department’s upcoming 10th anniversary, the Archives is working to grow its presence and collection while expanding access for the community. Once just a basement storage room, it now houses additional storage space, a processing area, and a reading room open to the public by appointment.
In the York Region Archives, a portrait of Warden Edward William Thomson has been placed in front of his 1841 commission document from Queen Victoria.
Evangeline Lee, Regional Archivist, has been leading that effort since 2014. With the support of two staff members, she says the Archives is ready to move from a quiet corner of the York Region Administrative Centre to a recognized and reliable resource for the broader community. Lee and her team are cataloguing more than 1,300 boxes of materials, with plans to gradually increase the number of digitized records and photographed artifacts available for viewing online.
“Our mandate is to collect internal government documents, but we also collect items of significance from area residents…anything that tells a story from York Region,” Lee said. She noted the impact of seeing important historical items in person, adding that the collection is particularly valuable for students, researchers, and history enthusiasts.
“They can come in to view any records, and we will help guide them through the process,” Lee said, pointing to the new online Research Request Form. “We recently had students come in to learn about the history of York Region Transit, and they were able to explore reports and other materials that went well beyond what has been made available online.”
The Regional Municipality of York was established in 1971 through Ontario legislation, and framed pages of the Act have been preserved in the Archives. They are joined by the inaugural address of Garfield Wright, the first chairman of the new upper-tier municipality.
Other artifacts include photographs, recorded speeches from past wardens, government furniture such as the first Regional Chair’s chair, and a collection of annual reports. Personal diaries and the official COVID-19 Declaration of Emergency signed by former Chairman Wayne Emmerson were also on display.
One standout is a 1937-41 York County Police Occurrence Ledger, which provides a detailed and occasionally entertaining record of the era’s criminal activity.
The collection also features a number of maps, including an 1878 atlas of York County. Two digitized maps are now available online, allowing residents to overlay today’s satellite images with 1970 aerial records or the well-known 1860 Tremaine map on display at the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum.
A map of Stouffville from the 1878 Miles & Co. Illustrated Atlas of the County of York.
York Region Archives materials are also featured in public exhibits at the Administrative Centre’s Grand Hall and local museums. Fifteen exhibitions have been curated to date, including A Growing Legacy: Celebrating 100 Years of the York Regional Forest displayed last year at the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum.
Those interested in donating their own materials can find details about the program and initiate the process online. The Archives team reviews submissions to determine whether they meet criteria for inclusion, and approved items are processed, organized, and preserved to ensure their long-term survival.
“We invite you to consider donating physical or digital records, photographs, artifacts, and personal stories that reflect your connection to the Region,” reads the current Grand Hall exhibition. “Whether it’s a family scrapbook, photo album, badges, uniforms, commemorative items, digital newsletters, oral histories, or video recordings, every contribution helps build a more inclusive and representative historical record.”
