Search the Archives

New Finding Aid website

Trent University Archives is currently in the midst of moving our finding aids to a new platform. During this time, we recommend that you conduct searches in both of our old and new interfaces to make sure you find all of the items relevant to your research.

Search our new site:

Search our old site:

Subject Guides

If you do not know the title of a specific fonds or collection appropriate to your research purposes, browse through the Subject Guides (immediately below).

Finding Aids

If you do know the name assigned by the Trent University Archives to a specific fonds in which you are interested, go directly to the list of full-text Finding Aids to locate the finding aid for that fonds.

(Akin to an index, a  Finding Aid is an inventory identifying the contents of boxes, documents or individual items in an archival fonds or collection).

Remember: Our mandate specifies that we collect and preserve historic materials generally relating to Peterborough and the surrounding counties of Victoria, Haliburton, Hastings, Northumberland and Durham. We provide primary, unpublished research materials such as:

  • diaries and letters
  • literary records
  • legal and court records
  • birth, marriage and death records
  • photographs
  • maps and newspapers
  • surveyors papers and store ledgers

...and much more!

Isolated Manuscripts

A Caveat... We occasionally receive single items, maps, drawings, individual letters or very small groupings of letters and documents. As these do not comprise fonds, they are minimally processed and described. There are many important records and documents received in this manner and researchers should not overlook them.

Please be aware that these manuscripts are not reflected in our "Index to Finding Aids" or in the list of "Subject Guides." The list of these Isolated Manuscripts is available here.