Fonds MG 14.140 - Town of Glace Bay

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Town of Glace Bay

General material designation

  • Textual record

Parallel title

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA BI MG 14.140

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1901 - 1995 (Creation)
    Creator
    Town of Glace Bay
    Place
    Glace Bay (NS)

Physical description area

Physical description

108.9m of textual records (312 books).

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1901-1995)

Biographical history

The French are credited as the initial inhabitants of the area of Glace Bay with the discovery of “mountains of coal” along the coast of the area they called Baie de Glace by Nicholas Denys, governor of Île Royale (Cape Breton), in 1672. They would begin settlements in the early 1720s, the area of New Aberdeen being the earliest reference to a European settlement in Glace Bay. The area became used for coal mining, which was to be sent back to Louisbourg to maintain the fortress. After the British took control of the area in 1748, the mines began to rapidly develop, which saw the growth of Glace Bay as a community and a town. The development of Glace Bay had always been directly related to the progress of the coal industry. Consolidation of coal operations under a single company in the later years of the nineteenth century saw new citizens from other parts of Canada and overseas pouring in. Immigrants from Poland, Greece, Russia, the Caribbean, England, Scotland, and Ireland all found homes in Glace Bay. In 1901, Glace Bay became the first town in the British Empire to obtain a charter under the reign of King Edward VII. Little Glace Bay, the village of Caledonia, Dominion no. 2, 3, and 4 collieries (including the old Hub and Sterling Mines) came together to form the new town of “Glace Bay” under legislative action on January 18th that same year. After 1901, an elected council was appointed for Glace Bay. This council would make the majority of municipal decisions and begin the initiatives for road, sewage, water system, education, and medical development. Originally consisting of eight councillors, the town was later divided into six wards with two councillors each, increasing the number of councillors to twelve. Glace Bay would continue on as a distinct autonomous town for 94 years. In 1995, the government of Nova Scotia sought to reduce the number of independent towns, thus, Glace Bay became incorporated with several other towns within Cape Breton Island to form the new Cape Breton Regional Municipality under the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Act.

Custodial history

The initial donation was forwarded to the archive on July 1, 1984. The second and largest accrual was donated as the Glace Bay Town Hall was being renovated in 2009. The Beaton Institute was asked to salvage the ledgers from the attic. Some of the materials were not able to be saved due to poor condition.

Scope and content

Fonds consists of a range of municipal records documenting the operation of the Town of Glace Bay from its incorporation until amalgamation in 1995. The bulk of the records in the fonds include hundreds of ledgers including: assessment, rate, and tax rolls, cashbooks, tax records, legal records and documents, financial records, receipts, and account books, public utilities records including electrical, water, and public works, and finally municipal department records including police, the school board, and the board of health. An earlier accrual included a petition to the Honorable Jean Marchand requesting re-opening of Number 20 Colliery; minutes of Town Council meetings; and an annual report from1954.

The fonds is arranged by series according to department function with sub-series noting the type of information recorded. Item level description is primarily provided in a chronological arrangement where possible.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Elke Ibrahim (Glace Bay Town Hall)

Arrangement

Language of material

    Script of material

      Location of originals

      Availability of other formats

      Restrictions on access

      Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

      Finding aids

      Associated materials

      Related materials

      Accruals

      Alternative identifier(s)

      Standard number

      Standard number

      Access points

      Subject access points

      Name access points

      Genre access points

      Description record identifier

      Accession area