City Departments
City Archives
Cambridge enjoys a rich and diverse heritage, the product of its diverse origins within a number of adjacent communities. This heritage has provided a rich source of materials for the municipal archives that has taken on the task of organizing the political records of four communities into a comprehensive whole. To this mass of documents has been added many historical documents from the whole community that are used by local historians to tell the story of an ever-developing city. The Cambridge Archives has also been given responsibility for the care and preservation of the entire local history collections of the three branches of the local library system. These collections came to the Cambridge Archives in 1991 along with many municipal documents that returned to Cambridge from the provincial archives in Toronto. These combined resources make the Cambridge Archives the ultimate repository for local history research for this area.
But Cambridge is also very fortunate to have in its Historic City Hall a place worthy to house this wealth of information. The first and second floors of the Historic City Hall, which once housed the entire administrative bureaucracy of the City of Galt, now holds the paper records of that administration, plus the paper records of Preston, Hespeler and many of the records, both old and new, generated by the City of Cambridge. This repository for our local history has been made possible in part through the corporate generosity of Toyota Canada Ltd, which made a gift of this project to the city soon after building its vehicle manufacturing plant here.
You can contact the Archives by e-mail at: archives@cambridge.ca
Phone 519-740-4680, Ext. 4621 or 4610.
City Archives is located at 46 Dickson Street, 2nd Floor, Cambridge, ON
We are open 8:30am -4:30pm Monday to Friday. At present, the building located at 46 Dickson is under construction and closed to the public. Although limited research is possible, appointments are necessary and can be made by email or telephone.
But Cambridge is also very fortunate to have in its Historic City Hall a place worthy to house this wealth of information. The first and second floors of the Historic City Hall, which once housed the entire administrative bureaucracy of the City of Galt, now holds the paper records of that administration, plus the paper records of Preston, Hespeler and many of the records, both old and new, generated by the City of Cambridge. This repository for our local history has been made possible in part through the corporate generosity of Toyota Canada Ltd, which made a gift of this project to the city soon after building its vehicle manufacturing plant here.
You can contact the Archives by e-mail at: archives@cambridge.ca
Phone 519-740-4680, Ext. 4621 or 4610.
City Archives is located at 46 Dickson Street, 2nd Floor, Cambridge, ON
We are open 8:30am -4:30pm Monday to Friday. At present, the building located at 46 Dickson is under construction and closed to the public. Although limited research is possible, appointments are necessary and can be made by email or telephone.
Related Documents
| DOCUMENT | DESCRIPTION | DATE POSTED | |
|---|---|---|---|
| At a Glance | |||
| April 23, 2009 | April 1989 - Arson was responsible for a $2-million blaze April 1994 - The city prepared to dip into $8.3 million April 1999 - Cambridge Arts Guild as it attempted to raise money for the $2-million arts centre | 2009-04-24 | PDF 76Kb |
| April 2, 2009 | April 1989: Silknit site apartment project was effectively finished. April 1994: Council was looking at how the business of the city was being conducted. Wedges �NWoods Inc. presented a proposal to build a $750,000 premiere golf facility on an 18-acre site off Hespeler Road. April 1999: Women�s Crisis Services of Cambridge and North Dumfries to sever its ties with the United Way | 2009-04-03 | PDF 77Kb |
| March 26, 2009 | March 1989 - Cambridge taxpayers were to face only a small 2.07 per cent increase in the taxes; Firefighters take possession of four new fire trucks March 1994 - Exploring the possibility of creating a Cambridge Hall of Fame March 1999- Trillium Air was scheduled to offer passenger service between the region and Ottawa beginning on May 1 | 2009-03-30 | 152Kb |
| March 18, 2009 | 1989: City of Cambridge firefighters wanted wage parity The Ministry of the Environment was to conduct tests at the site of the Kanmet foundry 1994: City council voted to spend an additional $15,000 to gather further information in its quest to get the Devil's Creek truck sewer line environmental study completed. 1999: Cambridge council had just voted down a motion to accelerate the completion of the Hespeler arena expansion | 2009-03-23 | PDF 77Kb |
| March 12, 2009 | 1989 - In an effort to come up with a method of providing more affordable housing in the area, Waterloo Region's committee of chief building officials presented the idea of permitting higher density in new subdivisions. 1994 - The city's planning and development committee was trying to find a compromise between allowing hunting within city limits and protecting public safety. 1999 - The new owners of Cafe 13 in the downtown core "lost everything" when the popular eatery officially closed. | 2009-03-17 | PDF 78Kb |
| March 3, 2009 | 1989: After more than 60 years at the same Main Street location, Law Photography was being forced to relocate 1994: While some of those in attendance maintained that the Galt Arena should be upgraded and renovated to the tune of $4.3 million over 10 years, others maintained that a "facility attractive to business and industry" with seating greater than 1,500 was needed. 1999: Officials at Cambridge Memorial Hospital had seen no new influenza cases since the previous week and were hoping that the most recent outbreak had run its course. | 2009-03-05 | PDF 42Kb |
| February 26, 2009 | 1989: The city purchased 185 acres from the province for $4.4 million to become the new Cambridge Industrial Park 1994: The city's Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee were looking at the possible designation of the Galt arena as a local heritage site 1999: The saga of the former Grandview School was in its final stages as the city's architectural conservation advisory committee | 2009-02-27 | PDF 45Kb |
| February 19, 2009 | 1989 - George Heggie resigned as the official starter of the Cambridge Skating Races after 57 years on the job. It was reported that it was becoming increasingly difficult for first time home buyers in the city to realize their dream of owning their own home. 1994 - It was nearly seven years in the making, but the Riverbank Development Committee had finally completed its vision statement for future riverbank green space development along the river system in the city. 1999 - Cambridge physician involved in efforts to bring new doctors to the city indicated that it would probably take more than financial incentives to solve the doctor shortage. | 2009-02-23 | PDF 78Kb |
| February 10, 2009 | 1989 - Cambridge was in the midst of one of the largest periods of growth experienced in the last 100 years. 1994 - It was reported that the Region of Waterloo was to receive more than $3.5 million from the provincial government for two projects designed to protect and enhance Cambridge's drinking water supply. 1999 - City council approved the twinning of Hespeler Arena as part of its $19.1 million capital budget. | 2009-02-23 | PDF 48Kb |
| February 3, 2009 | 1989 - Described as "an abysmal failure", the downtown ad-hoc parking committee was disbanded 1994 - local doctors were to decide for themselves when they would take time off to meet the funding cuts imposed by the province's "social contract": doctors could earn only 95 per cent of what they had earned over the last two years 1999 - Steve Stavro, the owner of the Knob Hill Farms property at the corner of Hespeler and Pinebush Roads was prepared to offer the site and premises of the giant food store available for "conversion into a world class trade/convention centre and hotel." All that were needed were investors. | 2009-02-10 | PDF 81Kb |
| January 23, 2009 | 1989: Junior kindergarten was about to become part of Catholic education GRCA considered shutting down Cambridge's Shade's Mills Conservation 1994: Daytime high temperatures of -19 degrees C broke the previous record 1999: Cambridge had endured a significant snowfall | 2009-01-27 | PDF 83Kb |
| December 16, 2008 | 1988: CMH was one of 11 hospitals to be investigated by the Ministry of Health for improperly transferring money into fund raising foundations. 1993: The Grant and Blackwell store on Water Street North was closing its doors for good with a sell-off of its comp $ 500,000 inventory. 1998: MPP Gerry Martiniuk introduced a private memberâ??s bill that would give the government greater authority over the distribution of family physicians. | 2008-12-22 | PDF 81Kb |
| December 9, 2008 | 1988: Tim Drennan was in the early stages of renovating McDougall Cottage. The first Canadian-built Toyota car rolled off the assembly line. 1993: Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. announced plans to construct a 50,000-square-foot addition to its Fountain Street plant. 1998: Provincial Minister of Health Elizabeth Witmer announced that the regions four hospitals were to receive millions of dollars in capital funding. | 2008-12-10 | PDF 81Kb |
| December 2, 2008 | 1988: CMH plan was a four-year budget designed to ease a $3-million deficit that had been projected for the 1988-89 fiscal year. Hospital officials had stated that they could save $107,000 per year by eliminating its outpatient lab services. 1993: It was reported that the then 71-year-old Galt Arena had just about reached the end of a long and illustrious life as a functional building and city officials were looking at what to do next. 1998: A Hespeler resident died in a fire following a stand-off with police at his Queen Street home. | 2008-12-09 | PDF 46Kb |
| November 27, 2008 | 1988: Jane Brewer became Cambridge's new mayor in an election that was described as a vote for continuity 1993: Cambridge's bid to obtain GO train service for the city was not doing particularly well 1998: The Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank and the Food Bank of Waterloo Region announced a parting of the ways | 2008-11-27 | PDF 28Kb |
| November 20, 2008 | 1988: Heritage Cambridge announced that it had sold the McDougall Cottage at 89 Grand Ave. S. 1993: MPP Mike Farnan announced the approval of a $15.8 million redevelopment project at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital. 1998: A new 80-bed long term care centre was to be built in the city at a cost of $6.1 million. | 2008-11-20 | PDF 49Kb |
| November 13, 2008 | 1988 - City council awarded the contract to build the new Hespeler arena and adjacent sports field to Ariss Construction of Guelph. 1993 - Cambridge city council invited planning staff from school boards to a public information session to clear the air on the issue of overcrowding in Cambridge schools. 1998 - Plans were in place at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital to provide at least a minimum level of service in the event of a possible strike. | 2008-11-13 | PDF 28Kb |
| November 4, 2008 | 1988 - It was announced that the former Capitol Theatre building on Water Street South was to be demolished. 1993 - In the federal election the Liberal "red tide" swept the Progressive Conservative Party led by Kim Campbell. 1998- The Christmas season was underway with the opening of the annual Trees of Caring fund raising campaign at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital. | 2008-11-04 | PDF 27Kb |
| October 28, 2008 | 1988 - The Emergency Services and Public Safety Department (ESPSD) had its name changed back to the Cambridge Fire Department. 1993 - The citizens' task force examining the Cambridge Area Transportation. 1998 - Kanmet foundry site on Margaret Street in Preston was gutted by flames. | 2008-10-28 | PDF 31Kb |
| October 21, 2008 | 1988: Visitors came to bid farewell to the Hespeler Memorial Arena on Queen Street. 1993: A federal election campaign was underway 1998: The Cambridge Santa Claus Parade was to be held in one of the downtown cores for the last time. | 2008-10-21 | PDF 28Kb |
| October 16, 2008 | 1988: Rumours were running rampant within the Cambridge business community about the possibility of a Honda engine plant locating in the city. 1993: It was Thanksgiving and what would the holiday be without a story about turkeys. It appeared that the wild turkey population in the area was flourishing following a 90-year hiatus. 1998: Regional police arrested four women, two of them from Cambridge, following an investigation of an illegal pyramid investment scam. | 2008-10-17 | PDF 30Kb |
| October 10, 2008 | 1988 -Officials at Cambridge Memorial Hospital announced that over the previous five months the hospital had accumulated an unexpected saving of $88,000 between April and August by spending less on providing services to the community. | 2008-10-10 | PDF 32Kb |
| September 25, 2008 | Fourth week of Sept. 1988 After serving as Cambridge's mayor for 12 of the city's first 16 years Claudette Millar announced that she would not run for re-election in the November municipal elections. Mayor Millar's withdrawal from the mayoralty contest left Cambridge councillor Bill Woods as the only announced candidate for the mayor's job. It was expected that Cambridge councillor Jane Brewer would announce her candidacy now that Millar had withdrawn. | 2008-09-25 | PDF 31Kb |
| September 16, 2008 | Although city staff had been instructed to keep a lid on the details of the project, Cambridge council had chosen one of several proposals for development of the former Capitol Theatre building on Water Street South. | 2008-09-16 | PDF 30Kb |
| September 9, 2008 | City council approved a proposal from Freure Homes to construct a 50,000-square-foot shopping centre on Blair Road near the CPR tracks. | 2008-09-09 | PDF 32Kb |
| August 26, 2008 | The Hespeler Memorial Auditorium was slated for demolition in October and organizers of the "Remember When" Hespeler Arena committee were planning a final bash to celebrate the arena's 43-year service to the community | 2008-08-27 | PDF 33Kb |
| August 21, 2008 | The city's business development department was accepting new proposals for the use of the boarded up Capitol Theatre building on Water Street South | 2008-08-22 | PDF 34Kb |
| August 14, 2008 | Representatives from the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC) and Thomasfield Homes were to meet to discuss various options and to possibly find an amicable solution to the controversy swirling around the designation of the Stirling Macgregor home | 2008-08-14 | PDF 33Kb |
| August 5, 2008 | The lawn-watering ban that had been in place since May 30 in Kitchener-Waterloo and since June 20 in Cambridge was finally lifted | 2008-08-05 | PDF 35Kb |
| July 29, 2008 | Preliminary discussions were being held between Can Am Golf Enterprises and the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) about establishing a new $2.5-million golf course on part of the Puslinch Lake Conservation Area | 2008-07-29 | PDF 33Kb |
| July 22, 2008 | City council wasted no time in getting a new Hespeler arena project underway | 2008-07-22 | PDF 31Kb |
| July 17, 2008 | The Ontario Ministry of Health agreed to provide the financially strapped Cambridge Memorial Hospital(CMH) with a loan of $650,000 to help cover its normal operating expenses. | 2008-07-17 | PDF 34Kb |
| July 11, 2008 | Two advisors from the Ontario Hospital Association arrived in the city to assist officials at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital in obtaining a balanced budget. | 2008-07-11 | PDF 34Kb |
| July 3, 2008 | As yet no decision had been made by the Ministry of Health on whether or not Cambridge Memorial Hospital would receive the assistance of two advisors proposed by the hospital's board of directors to assist the hospital in arranging its finances in a manner acceptable to the ministry. | 2008-07-03 | PDF 35Kb |
| June 24, 2008 | Support for Cambridge Memorial Hospital continued to grow as city residents got involved in the battle with the Ontario Ministry of Health. | 2008-06-25 | PDF 34Kb |
| June 17, 2008 | Cambridge doctors launched a campaign urging the citizens of Cambridge to stand up for their hospital. The Cambridge Academy of Medicine urged Cambridge citizens to write letters to the Ministry of Health to pressure the ministry into dropping its case against the Cambridge Memorial Hospital. | 2008-06-17 | PDF 33Kb |
| June 10, 2008 | The controversy over the finances of the Cambridge Memorial Hospital was beginning to heat up. | 2008-06-10 | PDF 33Kb |
| June 3, 2008 | The Eventide Home closed its doors permanently after the last residents in the seniors' nursing home were relocated. The Salvation Army, owners of the home, had discussed a plan to build a new $6 million home beside the Eventide Home but had dropped the idea after it proved to be economically unfeasible. | 2008-06-03 | PDF 35Kb |
| May 29, 2008 | City council passed a bylaw prohibiting the use of heavy equipment in new subdivisions on Sundays. The bylaw was to apply to all new subdivisions, as well as three subdivisions that were then nearing completion. | 2008-05-29 | PDF 33Kb |
| May 20, 2008 | Encumbered by a $1.7 million operating budget deficit and facing a projected deficit of $3 million in 1988 the Cambridge Memorial Hospital was facing an investigation by the Ministry of Health. The investigation was initiated when local hospital officials floated the idea of charging user fees of up to $150 per admission to ease financial restraints. | 2008-05-20 | PDF 34Kb |
| May 13, 2008 | Cambridge MP Chris Speyer announced "to a gasping group of Tories" that he would not be seeking re-election after completing his present term in the federal parliament. | 2008-05-13 | PDF 33Kb |
| May 8, 2008 | Although it was agreed by all concerned that development of some kind was inevitable on the lands south of Myers Road, residents opposed to the subdivision plans presented by Southview Holdings were relieved when council rejected a plan for a townhouse block on the site. The plan for the subdivision south of Myers Road directly across from Christopher and Woodland Drives included 148 single-family lots, a school block, a storm management block and a multiple dwelling block. | 2008-05-08 | PDF 35Kb |
| April 29, 2008 | Fifth week of April 1988 Details of the Grand River Rubber Ducky Regatta, a fundraiser operated by the music students at Southwood Secondary School, were announced. For the three weeks prior to the June event, Cambridge residents would be able to buy a place in the race of 10,000 yellow rubber ducks. | 2008-04-29 | PDF 29Kb |
| April 24, 2008 | Fourth week of April 1988 Cadillac-Fairview Corp. and Fidra Realties Ltd. announced that Group Accor of Canada Inc. was to build a full service upscale hotel that would be about eight or nine storeys high and would contain about 200 rooms. | 2008-04-24 | PDF 29Kb |
| April 15, 2008 | Third week of April 1988 Waterloo Region initiated an automatic external defibrillation program designed to save heart attack victims as part of the region's health care system. Cambridge Memorial Hospital was chosen as the base hospital to direct and monitor the program. The hospital took delivery of three of the defibrillators while the Kitchener-Waterloo area received seven machines. Fifty-four ambulance care attendants had been trained and certified to operate the defibrillators | 2008-04-15 | PDF 29Kb |
| April 8, 2008 | Second week of April 1988: Council adopted five amendments to its bylaw to regulate signs in the city but it appeared unlikely that the changes would greatly reduce the number of requests council would receive from business and industry for amendments in the application of the bylaw. | 2008-04-08 | PDF 30Kb |
| April 3, 2008 | EVENTS FROM 20 YEARS AGO The Cambridge Memorial Hospital launched a public awareness campaign as it faced a fiscal year-end operating budget deficit of $1.6-million. | 2008-04-03 | PDF 28Kb |
| March 25, 2008 | Fourth week of March 1988: Twenty-seven months after Toyota announced that the company would be building its Canadian car assembly plant in Cambridge the servicing agreements on the 400-acre site, and another 400-acre site adjoining the Toyota property, were finally completed. | 2008-03-25 | PDF 28Kb |
| March 18, 2008 | Third week of March 1988: The city had asked the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to investigate the possibility of stocking the Grand River with migratory trout and salmon to establish a sport fishery as part of its master plan for fisheries in the area. The MNR district biologist noted that while it was theoretically feasible to stock | 2008-03-18 | PDF 29Kb |
| February 26, 2008 | Fourth week of February 1988: Jack Etherton, dubbed "Mr. Theatre" for his longtime support of and work with the Galt Little Theatre, died of a heart attack. He was 64. The "Jack E. Awards" that recognize excellence in Galt Little Theatre productions were later created and named in his honour. | 2008-02-26 | PDF 30Kb |
| February 21, 2008 | Third week of February 1988: Cambridge Memorial Hospital was among 22 institutions in Ontario under investigation by the province. | 2008-02-21 | PDF 30Kb |
| General | |||
| Freedom of Information Form FOI | Access/Correction Request Form - Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy - (FOI) | 2009-01-12 | PDF 22Kb |
| City of Cambridge Municipal Freedom of Information Manual | The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) provides a means by which members of the public can obtain access to information in city files. It should be recognized that this is not an absolute right and there are times when the municipality may legimately withhold information. MFIPPA also provides the right of any individual to see his/her own personal information and to correct it if necessary. This manual is designed to provide the general public with the information on the municipality's records system and the information needed to initiate a request for information, including their own personal information. It also provides information on related issues such as fees involved and the appeal process should your request be denied. The manual lays out the rights of citizens to request and the obligations of the municipality both to provide information whenever possible and to protect from unreasonable disclosure any personal information the city may hold. The manual also includes a list, arranged by department, of all the personal information banks created by city staff to administer various programs. Most often information is available for the asking. MFIPPA should be used only if verbal requests for information have not been successful | 2007-04-18 | PDF 906Kb |
| Archives Collections June 2003 | A PDF overview of the full archive collections list. The collections list is 30 pages in length and describes all the record groups used by the Archives along with the types of documents that can found in each record group. | 2003-06-17 | PDF 225Kb |
| Genealogical Resources | A PDF overview of the material useful for genealogy research located in the archives. The collections list is 4 pages in length and describes all the collections at the Archives that are useful for genealogists in the search for relatives who lived in Galt, Preston, Hespeler, Blair or Cambridge. | 2003-06-17 | PDF 29Kb |
| History on the Grand Symposium | |||
| History on the Grand Program | The 2009 program for History on the Grand has been released. Please note that the program is subject to change. | 2009-08-24 | PDF 982Kb |
| History on the Grand Registration Form | Fill out the registration form to reserve a place at History on the Grand. Pre-registration is encouraged. | 2009-06-16 | PDF 911Kb |
| "Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Business History as Local History Through the use of Oral Interviews" | Oral history, to the uninitiated, sounds like a painful procedure a dentist might perform. In fact oral history is a way of doing history, a way of collecting evidence, of engaging with the past, and unique to oral history, a way to truly dialogue with historical figures. | 2008-06-10 | PDF 131Kb |
| Remembering Pilkington: Pleasures and Perils of Public History | Since it's publication by the Wellington County Historical Society in November of 2006, Remembering Pilkington Township: Lives, Loves and Labour enjoyed brisk sales and positive feedback. | 2008-06-10 | PDF 140Kb |
| The Kitchener Industrial Artifacts Project | The simultaneous demolition of the Seagram Distillery and Labatts Brewery complexes in the core of Waterloo not only removed a major portion of the city's industrial infrastructure, but also quite literally opened up a new horizon, creating an effect that was quite startling, especially for those who had lived in the city for some length of time. | 2008-06-10 | PDF 68Kb |
| The Grand River Naval Depot | In the early months of the War of 1812, British forces had control of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River System. | 2008-06-10 | PDF 146Kb |
| Airing Dirty Laundry: The Public Controversy Surrounding Church Union in Knox's (Galt) Presbyterian Church | On June 10, 1925 there occurred a massive split within the Presbyterian Church in Canada(PCC). On that date, the government of Canada legislated into existence The United Church of Canada(UCC), a new denomination created from the merger of three others: the Congregational Union of Canada, the Methodist Church and the PCC. | 2008-06-10 | PDF 208Kb |
| Bier to Bayerisch: Kitchener-Waterloo's Oktoberfest Inc. | "If you drink, you'll die. If you don't drink, you'll die. So drink!" was the motto emblazoned on Concordia Club's first posters advertising the 1967 festival's main draw: beer. | 2008-06-10 | PDF 183Kb |
| Public History Internship Reflective Essay | The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the practical applications of public history theory and how it related to the work I conducted for the Status of Designations Committee of the Historic Sites of Monuments Board of Canada(HSMBC). | 2008-06-10 | PDF 163Kb |
| A Natural History of Cambridge, Ontario | This paper reviews the major natural environmental factors that have been determinants of the character and settlement of Cambridge, Ontario. | 2008-06-10 | PDF 1759Kb |
| The Scottish-Canadian Community in Toronto: Class, Gender & Identity, 1871-1914 | Surprisingly little work has been done on the Scottish immigrant community of Toronto and that groups' expressed identities during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries despite the existence of numerous Scottish ethnic associations and two Scottish-Canadian newspaper publications. | 2008-06-10 | PDF 260Kb |
| New Perspectives: Approaching Public History with Artistic Licence | I became a historian because I wanted to tell stories from the past. This may sound overly simplistic (and it is), but it is also true. My desire to tell these stories was in response to a wider goal that most historians can relate to: namely how did we get here, and what does it mean to be here? | 2008-06-10 | PDF 102Kb |
| History on the Grand Site and Parking Map | The map will show the location of the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, the site of History on the Grand, and parking in the general area. | 2007-08-02 | PDF 186Kb |