Preserving Peterborough's Past: Trent University Archives

By Bernadine Dodge

The founders of Trent University were determined that the new university should become an integral part of the Peterborough community and play a vital role in its cultural life. This has taken the form of such events as theatre productions, art exhibits, public lectures, and concerts. In return, we at Trent have had the privilege of enjoying cultural and academic contributions--to university classrooms and performance space, and, through such groups as the Friends of the Bata Library--by members of the larger community.

In April, 1964, President Tom Symons wrote, "Trent University is willing and prepared to undertake to gather together and preserve, under the care of its Library, such historic papers and documents as may become available to it- perhaps in particular though certainly not exclusively, the papers and documents pertaining to the history and culture of this area of the country. The gathering together and care of such papers is a proper responsibility - indeed duty - of a university, and is one of the important ways in which a university can serve its community…" From its earliest beginnings, Trent University Archives has strived to be a centre for research by collecting and preserving primary historical documents and making these available, not just to Trent faculty and students, but to the larger public.

We concentrate on the preservation of historical papers and records which document Peterborough County and the surrounding counties of Victoria, Haliburton, Hastings, Northumberland and Durham. We have diaries, family letters, and photographs; ledgers from dry goods stores; business and labour records; hundreds of feet of court records, inquests, indictments and convictions; literary and personal papers of authors such as Dave Carley, Scott Young, and Doug Sadler; correspondence and manuscripts of Peter Gzowski, well-known broadcaster and current Chancellor of Trent University. We have the original letters of Frances Stewart and Katherine Wallis. And of course we preserve the papers and records of the founding president, Tom Symons. Having chaired over 20 major boards and commissions, Tom Symons' activity and expertise in the areas of education and cultural policy are unprecedented in Canada.

The diaries of a young man written in 1874 show him to have been mad for cricket, and resolving to "study so hard that Papa may not be discouraged with me, and for my own good." Since the diarist was Richard Birdsall Rogers who designed and supervised the building of the Peterborough hydraulic lift lock, we can suppose that he did indeed study hard.

Resources such as the papers of Leslie Frost are frequently read by biographers and historians, but, most collections in our holdings (now extending to 3000 cubic feet) do not document the lives of the famous. The majority chronicle the experiences of ordinary settlers, shopkeepers, tradesmen and citizens. The accidental survival of unpublished papers is one way in which the experiences of women can most effectively be reclaimed for the historical record. These records contribute in countless ways to an understanding of our contemporary society by illuminating the historical roots of our community.

As Trent University Archivist since 1982, I am pleased that the university has from the outset made a commitment to local culture and heritage. Many of our users are genealogists engaged in family research. Trent University Archives can provide nominal census records dating from 1851 to 1901, assessment records from 1851 to 1915, and vital statistics records for the 1860 to 1885. Voters' lists and local newspapers on microfilm are frequently consulted. We have been very pleased to be able to assist many writers of local township histories and stage plays in identifying useful resources ranging from surveyors' notes to nineteenth-century maps to photographs useful for costume design.

It is gratifying to be able to give back service to the community which sponsored the university: by accepting responsibility for documents and records which comprise an important component of the history and heritage of this area, by permanently preserving these records under optimal environmental conditions, and, by making them accessible to all. We charge no fees to consult the materials in our care. Our reading room on the first floor of Bata Library is agreeably designed for consultation and research. We are available Monday to Friday, 9AM to 4PM. Call us at 748-1125 x1413 and make an appointment to come in and consult your history. Or, check out the Archives web site at http://ivory.trentu.ca/www/bl/archives/archives.htm


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