Trent Valley Archives

Trent Valley Archives You can subscribe to our newsletter at http://eepurl.com/CA4vD

Some of the resources at the Trent Valley Archives include:
◦Large text collection of regional genealogical and historical resources
◦Cemetery transcripts covering cemeteries throughout the Trent Valley region
◦Family histories
◦Genealogical Research Directory
◦Peter Robinson immigration of 1825: ships lists and land records
◦Local newspapers and extracts from local newspapers supported by significant newspaper indexes (to the Peterborough Examiner, Peterborough Review and Dummer News) and by major runs of obituaries in the 19th century and in the 1990s.
◦Chronologies of significant events in the local area (partially available on this website)
◦Major collection of resources on the Peterborough Irish
◦Extensive microfilm collections of census, church, assessment records,
◦Extensive digital collection of pre-1840 Upper Canada (Ontario) documents.
◦Many of our archival finding aids and indexes to local histories are available in-house and sometimes on our website.
◦The Peterborough County land records, 1867-1950.

We hope everyone who is celebrating is having a very Merry Christmas with their loved ones! We wanted to share one final...
12/25/2025

We hope everyone who is celebrating is having a very Merry Christmas with their loved ones! We wanted to share one final festive photograph with you today, which we think perfectly personifies the phrase "Christmas miracle!" It was published in the Peterborough Examiner on December 26, 1970 with the caption: Christmas at Civic Hospital (p.15):. Nurse Margaret Tolmie and baby, Brenda May Fallis.

Our final festive photograph perfectly captures the excitement many of us felt on Christmas eve growing up! Published in...
12/24/2025

Our final festive photograph perfectly captures the excitement many of us felt on Christmas eve growing up! Published in the Peterborough Examiner in December of 1962, it captures two young boys eagerly awaiting the arrival of Saint Nick, with one looking up the chimney in anticipation while the other feverishly writes his Christmas list in the hope Santa will get it in time!

Thank you to everyone who has been following along with our "A Little Something for the Local History Buff" holiday gift guide posts and our festive photograph posts. We really appreciate your engagement with our content, and those of you who made the effort to shop local with us this holiday season. We hope you and yours have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

If you still haven't found the perfect gift for that local history buff, don't worry, we've got you! We may be closed fo...
12/23/2025

If you still haven't found the perfect gift for that local history buff, don't worry, we've got you! We may be closed for our holiday break, but we still have a few last-minute gift ideas that can be purchased online from anywhere!

1. A Trent Valley Archives Membership | If you know someone who is looking to delve deeper into their family tree, wants to learn more about the history of their property, or is working on a research project, they'll really appreciate a Trent Valley Archives membership! Our members get unlimited access to our archival holdings, including our large genealogy wall, our extensive research library, ancestry institution on our in-house computers, and over 1,200 archival fonds (including our popular Peterborough County Land Records). They'll also enjoy other membership benefits and perks throughout the year. Annual single memberships are $60 and annual family memberships are $75, and can be purchased on our website, here: https://trentvalleyarchives.com/membership/

2. Tickets to The Kid From Simcoe Street | Tickets to Trent Valley Archives Theatre's 2026 production, The Kid From Simcoe Street, are the perfect gift for local theatre lovers and anyone who spent their childhood in Peterborough! The play, based on the memoir of the same name, dramatizes James Clarke's boyhood experiences living on Simcoe Street in the 1930s and 1940s and illustrates how the many obstacles he was forced to overcome in his childhood helped him become a respected Ontario Superior Court Justice. Auditorium tickets are $30 each and cabaret tickets are $40 each, and can be purchased here: https://tickets.markethall.org/eventperformances.asp?evt=526

3. A Donation in Their Name | If they're already an active Trent Valley Archives member, they would love a donation made to us in their name! Your donation will help the organization they cherish thrive in 2026 and beyond, and support us as we continue to preserve the documents, photographs, maps, films, and other archival materials in our care for years to come. Donations in any amount can be made on our website, here: https://trentvalleyarchives.com/about-2/donations/

Our seventh festive photograph was taken by the Peterborough Examiner photographer in December of 1963, when they were t...
12/22/2025

Our seventh festive photograph was taken by the Peterborough Examiner photographer in December of 1963, when they were travelling around town capturing the best Christmas lights the city had to offer! Many contenders were photographed, but this snapshot of an outdoor nativity scene is our favourite. The way the observant woman and child are positioned in the photograph, it makes them look like they're a part of the scene itself. Do you enjoy looking at the Christmas light displays in town?

We have enjoyed welcoming so many of you to our archives building this year! To give our volunteers a much-needed holida...
12/21/2025

We have enjoyed welcoming so many of you to our archives building this year! To give our volunteers a much-needed holiday break, we'll be closed from Wednesday, December 24 to Thursday, January 1, reopening on Friday, January 2.

If you need to do some last-minute holiday shopping or want to pay us one final visit before 2025 comes to a close, we'll be open this Tuesday, December 23 from 10am-4pm (our last day open before our holiday break).

NOTE: If you purchased a book or map on our web shop for local pickup, Tuesday will be your last opportunity to pick up your order before the new year. If you can't come in and pick up your order on Tuesday and need it before Christmas, please call us at 705-745-4404 or email us at admin@trentvalleyarchives.com to make alternate arrangements.

Our sixth festive photograph, featuring a humongous pine tree festively lit outside of Peterborough City Hall, was publi...
12/20/2025

Our sixth festive photograph, featuring a humongous pine tree festively lit outside of Peterborough City Hall, was published in the Peterborough Examiner in December of 1962. City employees must have needed a very tall ladder (or a cherry picker) to string the lights all the way to the top!

Today is day six of our “A Little Something for the Local History Buff” holiday gift guide! Today, we’re featuring books...
12/19/2025

Today is day six of our “A Little Something for the Local History Buff” holiday gift guide! Today, we’re featuring books that are "Out of Print, But Not Forgotten."

Just because a book is out of print, doesn't mean we don't have it in stock! Did you know that we carry a large selection of used books for sale, with an emphasis on local and regional history? We do, and our used bookshelf is filled with treasures waiting for a new home. We photographed a few of our favourite offerings (and shared even more of our selection in the reel accompanying this post), but there is so much more in store!

Image 2: Our Peterborough by Ed Arnold and George Elliott [Softcover, $15] | Image 3: Historical Sketches of Peterborough by Martha Ann Kidd and Louis Taylor [Softcover, $10] SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR! | Image 4: By The Sound of Her Whistle by John Craig [Hardcover, $25, Softcover Also Available].

All of these books can be purchased in person at 567 Carnegie Avenue (we're open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am-4pm). If you are not local to Peterborough and would like us to ship one of these books to you, please call us at 705-745-4404 or email us at admin@trentvalleyarchives.com. We will be open tomorrow (December 20) and Tuesday (December 23) and then we will be closing for the holidays.

[NOTE: The Holy Land by Clare F. Galvin pictured in the first photograph has sold.]

Our fifth festive photograph was taken during the annual Santa Claus Parade down George Street in December of 1964! The ...
12/18/2025

Our fifth festive photograph was taken during the annual Santa Claus Parade down George Street in December of 1964! The Peterborough Examiner photographer took many photographs during the parade, but this one is our favourite since it illustrates how magical the parade would have been for the children who came to watch. Did you attend these parades as a child?

Today is day five of our "A Little Something for the Local History Buff" holiday gift guide! Today, we're featuring the ...
12/18/2025

Today is day five of our "A Little Something for the Local History Buff" holiday gift guide! Today, we're featuring the "Illustrated Historical Atlas of 1825 to 1875."

If you're looking for the ultimate, splurge-worthy gift, this atlas is guaranteed to be the crown jewel in anyone's local history book collection! Published by the Peterborough Historical Atlas Foundation in 1975, this commemorative publication has over 100 pages of historical sketches, maps, building illustrations and resident lists for the City of Peterborough and the surrounding townships that make up Peterborough County.

We've had several copies of this atlas for sale this year, but our latest copy is in near mint condition with almost no signs of wear, which is rare for a 50 year old book! When this one sells, it's unlikely we'll have another one in near mint condition for quite some time.

The atlas can be purchased in person at 567 Carnegie Avenue (we're open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am-4pm) for $150. [NOTE: The atlas advertised in our "A Little Something for the Local History Buff" email for $125 has sold. This atlas is in better condition than the one advertised in that email, which is why we increased the price. The atlas pictured in the first photo was the $125 one, but the atlas pictured in the subsequent photos is the $150 one. Please contact us for more information.]

Looking for another atlas? We have several local atlases for sale. Please call us at 705-745-4404 or send us a message with the atlas you're looking for and we'll see if we have it in stock!

Our fourth festive photograph captures the childlike wonder of Christmases gone by! It was published in the Peterborough...
12/16/2025

Our fourth festive photograph captures the childlike wonder of Christmases gone by! It was published in the Peterborough Examiner on December 24, 1971 with the caption: Gifts For Needy (p.8): Captain Douglas Marshall, left of Salvation Army accepts gifts to be delivered to the needy, from Cobourg radio station CHUC president Don Williamson. We're happy to see that this toy drive was such a success!

Address

567 Carnegie Avenue
Peterborough, ON
K9L1N1

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

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