Research at the Thunder Bay Museum

*Due to the provincial government’s Covid-19 directive, our library and research facilities are presently closed. Research inquiries are still welcome, but may be significantly delayed.*

The Thunder Bay Museum possesses a rich collection of resources to assist researchers in learning more about the history of the Lakehead and Northwestern Ontario. Appointments are necessary to utilize our research facilities – please use the contact form below to make one, or for general inquiries. For requests from those who cannot visit our research room in person we will make reasonable efforts to assist with the research based on staff resources available at the time. Your patience and understanding are appreciated.

Archives

The Thunder Bay Museum’s archives contain records from individuals, businesses, organizations, government agencies and military regiments, all of which are available to researchers by appointment. Click here for detailed information on our holdings to help you prepare for your research visit.

Archival Fees

The Museum’s archival collection includes a wide variety of digitized photographs depicting the history of Thunder Bay and area, available for purchase. Also available to researchers are digitized and searchable newspapers covering most years from the late 19^th century to the mid 1960’s (and growing thanks to our volunteers) which are in invaluable research tool, as well as digitized Henderson’s directories.

Library

The Dr. Thorold “Tory” Tronrud Research Library contains a wide variety of secondary source material concerning the history of Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario that is available to researchers by appointment. The collection includes books, numerous periodicals, school yearbook, as well as a complete collection of Papers & Records  published by the Historical Society. The library catalogue is available online.

Reel Memories of the Lakehead

In partnership with Shebafilms Ltd., and the Friends of the Finnish Labour Temple, this project involves digitizing newsreel footage originally donated to the museum by Fraser Dougall. This footage covers a wide variety of notable events at the Lakehead from 1958-1978. This material will eventually be accessible to researchers as it is digitized. Click here for further information on the project and stay tuned to this page as well as our social media feeds for updates.