Series consists of aerial photographs of the City of Thunder Bay. Included are aerial views of the former City of Fort William from 1949, 1955, 1959, 1962, 1968 and 1969; aerial views of the former City of Port Arthur from 1959 and 1969; and aerial views of the amalgamated City of Thunder Bay from 1974, 1976, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1991 and 1996. Also included in this series are aerial photographs of the Port Arthur urban renewal area from 1968.

E. S. Rutledge was appointed in 1903 as the Collector of Rates for the Town of Fort William and retired at the end of 1905.

When established as a Town on April 14th, 1892 by the Province of Ontario, four wards were established in Fort William and their boundaries defined. Assessment rolls, currently in preparation by the township of Neebing, were to be transferred as appropriate to the new Town of Fort William for the collection of taxes. It is unknown who acted as the original assessment commissioner and tax collector for the Town of Fort William, however, J.J. Wells held the position from 1905 to 1912 and was the original Assessment Commissioner /Tax Collector for the newly incorporated City in 1907.

Under the Act Respecting Municipal Institutions 1914 (Chapter 192 Section 230) assessment commissioners could be appointed by a Council through a By-law. The records show Assessment Commissioners for the Town of Fort William as follows; J.J. Wells, 1905 to
1912 - Charles England, 1913- 1916 - R. Dagger 1931 to June 1945 (Hendersons) - Alexander Halliday appointed under By Law 3937 dated June 26th, 1945 and sworn in June 30, 1945 - 1950 Hendersons Lists J. A. Colvin as Assessment Commissioner - W. Paul Simpson appointed under By-law 4356 dated July 11th 1950 takes office August 8th - Wilbert Wray appointed under By-law 11-1957 dated February 26th, 1957.

Organized by Ward and Subdivision, details of the Assessment Rolls included the Name, Address and Occupation of the Property Owner, the street name, lot number, house number, plan number, size of the lot, The Rate, the Actual Land and Building Value, school support, number of children and whether the occupant was a tenant or an owner.

In addition to calculating property values for tax purposes, early Assessment rolls were used for election purposes to establish polling sub divisions and to determine eligibility to vote on the bases of property ownership.

Under By-law 4262 (1949) Assessment for the year was to be conducted between January and September, the assessment rolls to be returned to the City Clerk by dates specified in the bylaw. In the same year, a report prepared by Stevenson and Kellogg indicated that the Commissioner completed all assessments and that the department was overburdened, spending most of its time on the collection of taxes. It was recommended that the department be severed in order to have one assessment office and one tax office. In 1950 this division was completed and a new Assessment Commissioner was hired for the City of Fort William.

This series is virtually complete consisting of 817 bound volumes with detailed records of information for assessment purposes. Fort William Collector’s Rolls, Series 15 may substitute or be used to fill in any gaps in the Assessment Rolls.

The Office of the City Clerk reports to the City Manager and is responsible for maintaining all
legislative and administrative requirements necessary for the effective functioning of the City.
The primary responsibilities of the Office of the City Clerk include managing the registration
of vital statistics information, preparing agendas for City Council and providing advice to
Council regarding the policies and operations followed by the City. Another major
responsibility of the Office of the City Clerk is to oversee the assessment of property tax.
Assessment Rolls are compiled each year by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation
(MPAC), the provincial government body responsible for the assessment of property value for
properties in all municipalities across Ontario. The City Clerk directs the certification and
amendment of Assessment Rolls prepared by MPAC each year within the City of Thunder
Bay. The information recorded in the Assessment Rolls is used by the City to calculate
municipal property taxes.

Series consists of Assessments Rolls covering residential, commercial and government owned
properties. Assessment Rolls include the following information: parcel number, name and
mailing address, religion, location and description of the property being assessed, school zone
including school support, tax class, total valuation, exempt distribution and taxable
distribution. Earlier Assessment Rolls from this series may include additional information
such as; marital status, occupation and year of birth. Recent Assessment Rolls also specify
whether or not there were any changes in property ownership for the years that the Assessment
Roll covers.

The Assessment Rolls are arranged by ward and subdivision. Assessment Rolls produced
between 1970 and 1979, are divided into wards for Fort William, Port Arthur, McIntyre
(Shuniah) and Neebing. Later Assessment Rolls, from 1980 onward, are divided into seven
different wards; McIntyre, Neebing, Current River, Northwood, McKellar, Red River and
Westfort.

Assessment Rolls can also be navigated by municipal address and name for the years 1976 –

1995. See Related Series: Series 41: Street Indexes to Assessment Rolls; and Series 42: Name
      Indexes to Assessment Rolls.

Also included in this series are Supplementary Assessment Rolls and Total Current Value
Rolls. Supplementary Assessment Rolls detail changes in ownership and provide information
on proportionate assessments for new property owners. Total Current Value Rolls include
statistical information on the total assessed values for properties which have been divided into
the following categories; residential (includes English and French separate school and public
school), commercial, office building, industrial, exempt, parking lot and multi-residential.

This series is a record of the assessment of industrial properties in the City.

When established as a Town on April 14th, 1892 by the Province of Ontario, four wards were established in Fort William and their boundaries defined. The researcher must know the street address in order to use the assessment rolls efficiently, as well the ward would be beneficial. In addition to calculating property values for tax purposes, early assessment rolls were used for election purposes to establish polling subdivisions and to determine eligibility to vote on the basis of property ownership.

Under the Act Respecting Municipal Institutions 1914 (Chapter 192 Section 230) assessment commissioners could be appointed by a Council through a By-law. Included in each Assessment Roll is a form called “Affidavit of Assessor in Verification of Assessment Roll” that has been notarized by the commissioner and assessor. The Town of Fort William’s Assessment Commissioners were A. McNaughton from 1915 to 1944 and D. M. Martin from 1945 to 1949 and 1951. The Assessors were Charles England from 1915 to 1918, J. Richard Dagger from 1919 through 1944, A. Halliday from 1945 to 1949 and W. Paul Simpson in 1951.

Organized by Ward and Subdivision, details of the Assessment Rolls included part or all of the following; Name, Address and Occupation of the Property Owner, Owner or Tenant, the street name, lot number, house number, plan number, size of the lot, Rate, Actual Value of Land, Building Value and total of both, school support and date of delivery of notice. Each book also includes a summary of assessment and details.

A supplementary Assessment Roll for 1915, 1916, and 1917 was produced.

This series is virtually complete consisting of 37 bound volumes with detailed records of information for assessment purposes.

A Cemetery and Parks Committee appears to have been established in the fall of 1901 as a 5-member sub-committee of Council. For the period 1904-1905, the committee was chaired by J.E. Dean. There is no indication of how park and cemetery functions were directed after 1905 as there are no references to the committee within the Fort William council minutes, and no remaining minutes for this or any related Committee until the formulation of the Parks Board in 1910.

After public consultation in the form of a plebiscite, and the adoption of By-law 735, the Board of Parks Management was created in 1910 under the authority of the Ontario Public Parks Act. The original public petition for the Board of Parks Management is available in the Fort William City Clerks files. (TBA 4 – File 131 entitled Parks Board 1910-1920)

Appointments to the Parks Board were formally established by Council on January 11 1910, with the first regular meeting of the Board of Parks Management held January 28th, 1910, chaired by W. A. Dowler.

Early ventures for the Board of Parks Management included the acquisition and control of existing park properties, boulevards, and the hiring of a landscape architect. The Parks Board undertook improvements to various park properties, scheduled use of park facilities and maintained a greenhouse. In addition to developing Chippewa Park and leasing cabins on Sandy Beach, the board assumed responsibility for the management of city cemeteries at various points after 1917. The Parks Board undertook responsibility for the formation of outdoor skating rinks in 1942, participated in the initiative to establish a skiing facility near Mount McKay in 1947 and undertook the Fort William Centennial Conservatory Project in the late 1960s.

Recreational committees began to surface as early as 1943 with an appointment of a Special Recreational Committee on March 15. Later, under the authority of By-law 4263 (1949) the Fort William Civic Recreation Committee was established to provide a program of community recreation as prescribed under the Department of Education Act. As the functions of recreation and parks committees were similar, Council passed a motion for the Board of Parks Management to assume the Civic recreation program in 1952. To avoid the requirement for a public plebiscite for the dissolution of the two boards and the creation of a new board to manage both functions, Council resolved the issue through By-law 4492, which passed and received approval from the Ontario Department of Education in 1952. This by-law allowed council to appointment members of Board of Parks to the Civic Recreation Committee. Both committees maintained separate minutes, but were in effect managed under the Board of Parks Management. Minutes (January 1966 to January 1967) for the Fort William Civic Recreation Committee are bound with the Board of Parks Management Minutes 1964-1965. Minutes for the Fort William Board of Parks Management end in 1969 due to the amalgamation of the City of Fort William and Port Arthur.

This Series Consists of meeting minutes relating to the management of Parks and Cemeteries for the City of Fort William. Eleven bound volumes exist, for which there are no indices. The first volume for the Board of Parks Management, dated January 28, 1910 to December 3, 1917, contains the originating By-law 1. Some Newspaper clippings and reports are interspersed. After 1935 the minutes reflect a growing structure for parks management. Reports from the Inside Park Committee, Chippewa Park Outside Committee, McKellar Park Committee, Finance Committee and a Tourist Committee are included for the period 1935-1936. While it appears that the first four are sub-committees to the Parks Board, the Tourist committee appears to be a committee of council with representation from the Parks Board. Frequent progress reports are included from Mr. A. Widnall, the longstanding Board Secretary and Parks Manager and reports from various Chairmen.

Also included with this series, custodial history of which is not known, is the Annual Statement for the Fort William Board of Parks Management for the year 1949. Included in this document are the statement of receipts and payments for the year, as well as the operating statement and highlights of various activities held at and improvements made to the City's parks throughout the year.

Outlined in By-law 325 (1903), the duties of the Building Inspector included the examination of construction of buildings and repairs, making the Office of the Building Inspector a likely candidate for the responsibility of the Fort William building permit registers. Through reviewing annual reports (Series 16) it appears that the office of the Building Inspector came under the direction of the Fire Water and Light Committee.

Arranged numerically by year and permit number, registers (Between 1912 and 1972) generally include the following details:
permit number, date, owner, information on the location of the building including lot, block, plan, street and address, a description of the building including construction details of walls, foundations and roof, the names of architect/contractor and plumber/electrician, the costs of the construction, any fees charged and the purpose of the permit. Monthly summaries give the
totals for different categories of construction such as duplexes, single dwellings, sheds, commercial and institutional buildings.

The earliest building permits (1907-1911) do not include details regarding the contractor, builder, plumber or electrician, but still provide a description of the purpose of building and value attached to the construction.

This series consists of bound volumes with details of construction completed under a permit number. There is no index to permit numbers, by name or property. Researchers must know the approximate year of the construction for a property in order to search, page by page, for the street address.

By-laws cover a great variety of issues and concerns. There are By-laws to formalize agreements with other institutions, appoint municipal officials, regulate tax collection, construct sidewalks and roadways, license local establishments, provide for holding elections, establish rates for water and other applicable utilities, and construct City facilities. While most By-laws pass after three readings by council, some early by-laws affecting the “future position” of the municipality required the electoral approval by ratepayers according to the Municipal Act. These by-laws would generally include debenture by-laws for the borrowing of funds on credit, but would also include by-laws for annexation or separation, a re-division
of wards, construction of street railways, local assessment and improvement to name a few.

Interspersed with the earliest Fort William By-laws, there are also sundry by-laws generated by the Municipality of Neebing (1890-1894).

This series contains records relative to Council and the City Clerk’s office. The First Box is strictly correspondence, alphabetically filed and dating from 1903 to 1913. Additional materials are arranged by file code and can be accessed through reviewing the file list.

Records in the Fort William City Clerk’s Files reflect some of the above mentioned legislative requirements, however, this series largely reflects local issues including correspondence relative to Council actions and the administration of the City through its various Boards. The earliest records of the of Fort William Clerks Files consist of correspondence for the Town of Fort William in the early part of the 20th century. These records are alphabetically ordered and cover the period from 1903 to 1913. Latter records are subject-based files organized by a file code. The following titles are in no way exclusive or consistently applied over the span of years for the City Clerks files. They are included here to reflect the variety and scope of issues addressed by the Clerk.

File headings include the following: Auditorium, Board of Education, Bridges, City Statistics, City Hall, Complaints, Court of Revision, Council, Court of Revision – Voters List, Elections, Fort William Gardens, General Correspondence, District Officer of Health, Health, Housing, Historical, Hydro-Electric Commission, Industry, Legislation, Local Improvements, Loch Lomond, Public Utilities, Railways, Rinks, Royal Visit, Streets, Street Railway, Tax, Tourists, Town Planning, Transit, Visitors, Vital Statistics, War and Zoning. A detailed file list is available.

In 1949 a report conducted by Stevenson and Kellogg identified the work performed in the Clerks department. In addition to duties already mentioned, the clerk oversaw City insurance matters, performed secretarial duties for Council and its committees (such as the Police Commission and Board of Health) issued marriage licenses, and was responsible for the internal coordination of work between departments as well as the coordination between departments and the committees of Council which managed the City. This last responsibility for the coordination between departments and Council was likely alleviated after the appointment of Sydney H. Blake as City Administrator in January of 1958, his duties being described in By-law 58-1961 to include the control and direction of department heads.

Under By-Law 1545, dated December 30, 1918, the duties of Officials were set out. The duties of the City Clerk included secretary of council, returning officer, voters list preparation, local improvements, preparation of juror’s list, registrar of vital statistics, supplies control, responsibility for fuel controller records, isolation hospital, tax roll and office. (the By-Law may be consulted for more detailed information)

The records were in the custody of a number of Clerks commencing with William Howard Langworthy who was appointed Clerk and Treasurer of the Town of Port Arthur on May 12, 1884, under By-Law 1. Mr. Langworthy was also appointed Clerk of the Police Office on January 25, 1886, under By-Law 88. On January 26, 1891, under By-Law 275 he was again appointed Clerk and the By-Law also stated that his salary as Clerk also included his salary as Secretary of the Local Board of Health.

On February 10, 1897, under By-Law 481, James McTeigue was appointed Clerk and the ByLaw also stated that his salary as Clerk also included his salary as Secretary of the Local Board of Health. On February 7, 1898, under By-Law 502 , Mr. McTeigue was appointed Clerk and Treasurer. On January 18, 1907, under By-Law 898, Mr. McTeigue’s salary as Clerk and Treasurer and Secretary of the Local Board of Health, also included his salary as Secretary Treasurer of the Electric Railway and Light Commission. Under By-Law 52, dated January 15, 1908, his title as Secretary Treasurer of the Electric Railway and Light Commission was changed to Secretary of the Electric Railway and Light Commission.

In 1908, under By-Law 113, dated April 13th, the Office of the Clerk and Treasurer was separated and William Gurney was appointed Treasurer. Mr. McTeigue continued as Clerk, Secretary of the Local Board of Health and Secretary of the Electric Railway and Light Commission. Under By-Law 500, dated January 9, 1911, the title Electric Railway and Light Commission was changed to Utilities Commission. Under By-Law 734, dated January 11, 1912, Mr. McTeigue was appointed Clerk and Secretary of the Local Board of Health.

Under By-Law 837, dated July 30, 1912, T. F. Milne was appointed Clerk. Under the ByLaw, his salary as Clerk, also included his salary as Secretary of the Local Board of Health, Secretary of the Board of Park Commissioners and Secretary of the Board of Police Commissioners. Under By-Law 960, dated January 13, 1913, Mr. Milne was again appointed Clerk, with his salary also including his services as Secretary of the Local Board of Health. No other duties were mentioned in this By-Law. Under By-Law 1142, dated January 19, 1914, Mr. Milne was again appointed Clerk. No other duties were mentioned in this By-Law.

On March 20, 1922, under By-Law 1684, Mr. Milne was appointed Clerk and Deputy Treasurer. Due to the death of T.F. Milne , Arthur H. Evans was appointed temporary Clerk and Deputy Treasurer of the City of Port Arthur under By-Law 2085, dated January 29, 1934. Under ByLaw 2100, Arthur H. Evans was appointed the permanent Clerk and Treasurer.

On September 11, 1939 under By-Law 2348, pursuant to the provisions of the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1937, Chapter 266, Section 234, Sub-section 2 and Section 238, William V. McComber was appointed Deputy City Clerk and Deputy City Treasurer during the absence of the then Clerk and Treasurer, Arthur H. Evans who was serving in His Majesty’s Forces.

On December 11, 1939, under By-Law 2371, William V. McComber was appointed permanent Clerk and Treasurer during the indefinite absence of Arthur H. Evans, subject to the said Arthur H. Evans being able to return to his position upon his return, which provision is covered under By-Law 2349, dated September 25, 1939. On December 27, 1946 under ByLaw 2711, Arthur H. Evans was re-appointed as Clerk and Treasurer pursuant to The Reinstatement and Civil Employment Act 1946 and to By-Law 2349.

On July 28, 1947 under By-Law 2758, Arthur H. Evans was appointed Clerk and William V. McComber was appointed Treasurer and Deputy Clerk.

On July 25, 1955 under By-Law 3771, Lillian Dennis was appointed Deputy Clerk, the aforesaid Arthur Henry Evans retained his position as Clerk at this time, under By-Law 3770 also dated July 25, 1955. On May 27, 1963 under By-Law 4945 it was necessary to appoint an Acting Clerk, and Lillian Dennis was appointed. Frank Morphet was appointed Deputy Clerk under By-Law 4946, dated May 26, 1963. On November 12, 1963 under By-Law 5014, Lillian Dennis was appointed Clerk of the City of Port Arthur. Lillian Dennis remained in the position as Clerk until her retirement on January 1, 1970.

The series contains records generated in the office of the City Clerk and consists of files arranged alphabetically under the categories Education, Election, Employees, Finance, Government, Government Housing, Government Licenses/Licensing, Government Police, Government Vital Statistics, Health, Health Hospitals, Legal, Miscellaneous, Planning, Property, Property Zoning, Real Estate Transactions, Recreation, Social, Trade, Trade Elevators, Trade Railway/Railways, Traffic & Safety, Utilities, Utilities
Telephone/Telephones, Utilities Water, Works & Construction, Works & Construction Streets, Works & Construction Traffic & Safety, Works & Construction Traffic, Fire & Safety and Works & Construction Water.

The fonds consists of minutes, by-laws, agreements, correspondence, reports, financial records , maps and plans which documents virtually all aspects of municipal rights, responsibilities and activities. As a result of a disastrous fire in March of 1903, which destroyed the original Town Hall and almost all of the municipality’s early records, there is relatively little documentation covering Fort William’s first decade. The post 1903 records, however, reflect all categories of municipal functions, and responsibilities including council, administration, finance, waterworks, roads, planning, building, engineering, public transportation, parks, recreation, telephone, welfare, police and fire service.