PortCities Project

Ontario Libraries and Archives

University Archives and Map Libraries

City of Toronto Archives The Archives has over 1.25 million photographs and over 10,000 maps and plans in its collection. Many of these have been digitized and made available to view online.

Toronto Reference Library A broad range of digital and print collections. If you visit, plan to explore the Baldwin Collection of Canadiana "One of the world’s largest research collections of Canadian history. With over a million items, it holds significant primary sources from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The emphasis of the collection is Toronto and Ontario."

St. Catharines Public Library The local history collection is extensive. The website links to a "robust" historic image online database.

St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre

St. Catharines Historical Society – Resources

Welland Museum and Archives

Fort Erie Historical Museum and Archives

Niagara Falls Public Library and Archives

Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum and Archives

Port Colborne Historical & Marine Museum

L.R. Wilson Heritage Research Archives

Anglican Diocese of Niagara Archives

Lincoln Archives

West Lincoln Historical Society and Archives

Grimsby Historical Society Archives

Buffalo Repositories & Digital Databases

Buffalo Digital Library — BuffaloResearch.com Explore within the themes i.e. Business and Industry, Underground Railroad etc., or search across the site.

Libraries & Collections – University at Buffalo Libraries Explore the range of collections housed at UoB, including the Digital Collections

The Buffalo History Museum The museum’s digital collections house an immense database of documents relating to Buffalo, the Erie Canal, health and welfare. Please use LibraryWorld OPAC Home Page to search across resources. The libraries digital collections are extensive, take your time and hone your search criteria accordingly.

Municipal, Provincial and Federal Sources

The Archives of Ontario — explore the section on Access Our Collections

The Library and Archives of Canada — explore the section Search the Collection

Historical Data – Climate – Environment and Climate Change Canada

Censuses – Library and Archives Canada

Canadiana by CRKN contains a variety of monographs, serials, government publications and maps

Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources — 1867-1993

Héritage webpage collections on genealogy, Indigenous history, government documents, military history and landmark papers.

Newspapers

Hamilton: Daily Spectator 1858

Hamilton: Hamilton Evening Times 1864-1868

Hamilton: Hamilton Gazette 1852-1856

Hamilton: Weekly Times 1858-1864

The Globe and Mail (1844-2018)

Toronto Star (1894-2022)

Historical Newspaper Holdings: Ontario

The New York Times

America’s Historical Newspapers

Chronicling America

Buffalo Newspapers A collection of newspapers, some of which charge a fee, but have free trials you can use. Others are open access.

Historic Maps

Historical Map and Chart Collection — NOAA

Surface Currents of the Great Lakes — based on the movement of bottle papers, 1892-1894

The University of Toronto Library holds scanned maps (a search using "Toronto harbour" produced 787 results): https://mdl.library.utoronto.ca/collections/scannedmaps

The collections at York University also hold a range of Toronto-area historic and contemporary maps.

City of Toronto Collections – Historical Maps and Atlases

Historical Maps of Niagara The Brock University Map Library holds an extensive collection. Sharon Janzen, the Map Library Associate, will be able to help you locate particular maps if you’re having difficulty using the search.

The Historic Welland Canals Mapping Project The routes and features located along the First, Second and Third Welland Canals.

The Shickluna Shipyard Mapping Project, based on the HWCMP, focuses on the Shickluna Shipyard and Drydock area, as well as other industries along the canal, providing overlays using a series of maps and aerial or satellite imagery.

Buffalo Maps An excellent range of Buffalo area maps. Additional maps, located among the Historic Images.

Historic Images

York University Digital Library (port and vessel photographs from the Telegram, 1950s-1970s) https://digital.library.yorku.ca

The Buffalo History Museum Picture Store You can browse by theme or look for something using the search.

The New York Heritage Digital Collections holds an extensive database of high-quality images, both drawings and photographs, documenting Buffalo’s changing cultural landscape.

Other Digital Photo Archives A range of additional sources for locating print and photographic images.

Ships and Shipping Resources

Maritime History of the Great Lakes – The search tool is very useful as a starting point for port history, with primary sources beginning in 1776, as well as recent secondary sources. An important secondary resource on this site is Hamilton Harbour 1826-1901 by Ivan S. Brookes. Colleagues have also recently transcribed C.H.J. Snider "Schooner Days" almost 1300 articles. Writing for Toronto’s Evening Telegram between 1931 and 1954, Snider chronicles his experience in the last days of working sail, along with other mariners, about ships, ports and people.

Great Lakes Maritime Collection — Alpena — you can search ships by shipbuilder, build location or final disposition, i.e., scrapping at Port Colborne. Excellent ship image library.

Dr. Charles Feltner Vessel Enrollment Database — Reconstructing a ship’s history. In fact, Buffalo had the greatest enrollments than any other port on the Great Lakes between 1815 and 1896 Feltner Enrollment Database Causes.

Shipping Register, Hamilton Ontario. Library and Archives Canada RG 12, A 1, Vol. 362, pp.103-362.

Shipping Register, Toronto (1874-1958)
Toronto [Ontario] Registrar of Shipping
Toronto [Ontario] Registrar of Shipping, 1884-1907