Research Information
Explore Online Resources
Start by checking out our Online Collections database. Currently, a portion of the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre’s Collection is searchable through this site. We are always adding records, so check back often! During your research process, you may also wish to consult these BCM&CC web pages:
See the “Finding Aids” section further below for more topic-related links.
For tips on using the Online Collections database, view our Online Collections Tutorial below.
Online Collections & Property Research Video Tutorials
Finding Aids
The finding aids and links below were prepared for researchers to learn about the resources available in the Archives and Research Room. These lists only reflect a selection of our collection. Researchers are encouraged to call ahead to arrange for items in these aids to be retrieved from the archival storage area, and to ask whether there may be other items in the collection relevant to their research topic. These are generally only descriptions of the items and not digital copies of them.
Large stands of forests used to cover much of what is now Bruce County. The diversity and number of trees made this area an ideal place for talented and industrious individuals to create a living working with this rich resource.
- Brief History of Bruce County Furniture Factories
- Furniture Catalogues of Bruce County and Grey County
- Krug Bros. Co. Ltd. Furniture Catalogues (Krug family fonds, series 1, subseries 8, file 1)
- American and Canadian Furniture Company Catalogues, not including Bruce & Grey Counties (Krug farmly fonds, series 1, subseries 6
- Krug Bros. Ltd. Co. Business Records (Series 1 of Krug family fonds)
- Krug Farms and Chesley Chair Company Limited (Series 2 of Krug family fonds)
- View pieces of Bruce County furniture in our Online Collections
Cemetery Locator & Finding Aid
The Bruce County Genealogical Society and the Bruce & Grey Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society have transcribed tombstones in many of the cemeteries in Bruce County. Click on the link to the Bruce County Genealogical Society website to discover tools to help locate cemeteries. The Bruce & Grey Branch O.G.S. transcriptions are now available online for free.
Census and Vital Statistics Records
Microfilm copies of census records and birth, marriage and death indexes and registrations.
Directories and Telephone Books
Directories list names, occupations and other information about residents of towns/townships
Telephone books have similar information, without the occupation, in more recent times.
Family Histories
Search our Online Collections for family history books and family trees. Also browse the collection by name using the Term Search page of Online Collections
Genealogy Resource Checklist
A checklist of materials in the Research Room & Archives that may be useful to family historians.
Newspaper Holdings
List of microfilm copies of local newspapers.
Newspapers during the First World War period (1914-1918)
The Paisley Advocate, Port Elgin Times, Walkerton Telescope, and the Canadian Echo (Wiarton) newspapers have been digitized in a PDF searchable format and are available through our Online Collections site. This project was completed by the Bruce County Genealogy Society, in partnership with the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, with assistance from a Trillium Grant.
Personal Papers
As the years go by, everyone amasses a great amount of records in the form of personal and business letters, journals, diaries, photographs and the like. Often, these materials are passed on from generation to generation and can find their way into the Archives. These records give us a first- hand account of what life was like in the past. See our Online Collections to view descriptions, and in some cases images, of a selection of personal papers.
Online Collections – People Search
Visit the “Term Search” page of our Online Collections to see a list of people known to be associated with records currently described online. As this represents only a small percentage of our records, visit the Archives & Research room to continue your research.
The Archives is the official repository for many of the permanently retained records of the Corporation of the County of Bruce. Bruce County municipalities have also transferred some of their archival materials to the Archives. These records include Land Transfer Copy Books, Assessment and Collector’s Rolls, Voters’ Lists, Minutes, By-Laws, correspondence and more.
County of Bruce
The Bruce County fonds consists of administrative records for the United Counties of Huron, Perth and Bruce (1850-1852), the United Counties of Huron and Bruce (1853-1866), the County of Bruce Provisional Council (1857-1866), and the County of Bruce (1867- ). It includes by-laws, minutes and other records created by the various departments of the Corporation of the County of Bruce.
Municipality of Arran-Elderslie (including the former Arran Township, Elderslie Township, Chesley, Paisley, and Tara)
Municipality of Brockton (including the former Brant Township, Greenock Township, and Walkerton)
Township of Huron-Kinloss (including the former Huron Township, Kinloss Township, Lucknow, and Ripley)
Municipality of Kincardine (including the former Bruce Township, Kincardine Township, Kincardine, and Tiverton)
Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula (including the former Eastnor Township, Lindsay Township, St. Edmunds Township, Lion’s Head, and Tobermory)
Town of Saugeen Shores (including the former Saugeen Township, Port Elgin, and Southampton)
Municipality of South Bruce (including the former Carrick Township, Culross Township, Mildmay, and Teeswater)
Town of South Bruce Peninsula (including the former Albemarle Township, Amabel Township, Hepworth and Wiarton)
Local History Books: Many published resources about various geographical parts of Bruce County are available in the Research Room. Try entering your location in the “Place” field in the Online Collections advanced search page, with the “Library” catalogue checked at the top of that page.
Bruce Krug Local History Scrapbooks: Bruce Krug created scrapbooks for every former township of Bruce County, consisting of newspaper clippings, historical notes, photographs, and summaries of interviews he conducted with Bruce County residents. Indices of the scrapbooks are available in the Finding Aid Links field in the Online Collections descriptions of each scrapbook.
Weichel Research Collection: For Southampton information and people, also consider reviewing the John B. Weichel research collection inventory, consisting primarily of notes and copies of newspapers and other published materials collected by author and historian, John Weichel.
First Nations: For information about First Nations, check out the Peter Schmalz fonds or use “First Nation*” as a keyword search in our Online Collections.
Land Records: See the “Land Records, Maps & Geography” section on our Useful Links page (for Bruce County records from external sources).
Newspaper Holdings: List of microfilm copies of local newspapers.
Newspapers during the First World War period (1914-1918)
The Paisley Advocate, Port Elgin Times, Walkerton Telescope, and the Canadian Echo (Wiarton) newspapers have been digitized in a PDF searchable format and are available through our Online Collections site. This project was completed by the Bruce County Genealogy Society, in partnership with the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, with assistance from a Trillium Grant.
Women’s Institute Tweedsmuir Community Histories
- This link leads to a list of Women’s Institute minutes, administrative records and Tweedsmuir Community History books, categorized by branch, housed at the BCM&CC.
- This link leads to a list of W.I. Tweedsmuir Community History books at the BCM&CC
- This link leads to the Federated Women’s Institute of Ontario’s Digital Collections, which include digitized versions of the W.I. Tweedsmuir Community History books.
The Research Room and Archives contain a variety of marine related resources related to Bruce County. These include:
- Books about local marine history
- Books about ships and shipwrecks
- Books about lighthouses
- Lighthouse Keepers logs
- Magazines, journals and newsletters related to marine history
- Marine Heritage scrapbooks
- Marine navigation items
- Photographs of ships
- Photographs of lighthouses
- Photographs of harbours
- Shipwreck-related artefacts and lifesaving medals (part of the BCM&CC Collection)
Some of the items listed in the “Local History” section above, such as Township history books and newspapers are also excellent sources of marine information.
The military service of those connected with Bruce County is a popular research topic!
Online Military Records include:
- 160th Battalion records and images
- Bruce Remembers, a site containing information about Bruce County individuals in military service, battalions, cemeteries and monuments.
- Military-related photographs
- Military medals
- Military uniforms
- Newspapers during the First World War period (1914-1918)
The Paisley Advocate, Port Elgin Times, Walkerton Telescope, and the Canadian Echo (Wiarton) newspapers have been digitized in a PDF searchable format, in partnership with the Bruce County Genealogy Society, with assistance from a Trillium Grant. - Soldiers’ letters and diaries
To search for particular soldiers:
- Search Bruce Remembers’ Find People page, and
- Search Online Collections’ People
Records available to view in the Research Room include:
- Additional 160th Battalion items
- Additional Newspapers, not yet available online
- Books about the First World War
- Books about the Second World War
- Books about the Korean War
- Most Township / Town local history books have a chapter on the military involvement of their community.
- Military Oral History Interviews – Video interviews completed since 2005 of local veterans around Bruce and Grey Counties, available to be viewed at the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre in the Research Room.
World War-related records:
This is a list of some of the organizations who have donated records to the BCM&CC, thereby making them accessible to the public. The links lead to descriptions of the records in Online Collections.
Bruce County Historical Society
- BCHS fonds and series descriptions
- BCHS item list
- BCHS Newsletters (see Transcripts area for download link)
- Download Index to BCHS Newsletters, 1958-2020
Country Sisters Community Club
Gould Lake Ratepayers Association
Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, White Cloud Chapter
Loyal Orange Lodges
- Loyal Orange County Lodge No. C207, Bruce County
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 203 Tara fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 208 Ebenezer fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 460 Walkerton fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 609 Dobbinton fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 612 Purple Hill fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 753 Rosemount fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 765 Kincardine fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 898 Kinloss fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 968 Allendford fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 1122 Underwood fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 1226 Bethel fonds
- Loyal Orange Lodge No. 1284 Southampton fonds
- Royal Black Preceptory No. 436, Tara
- Loyal Orange Lodge Membership Certificates (collected by L.O.L. No. 765, Kincardine as other Lodges disbanded)
- Loyal Orange Lodges Objects
Port Elgin Senior Citizens Friendship Club #976
Rebekah Lodges of Bruce County
Rock of Friendship Temperance Society
South-Port Optimists Club
- This link leads to a list of Women’s Institute minutes, administrative records and Tweedsmuir Community History books, categorized by branch, housed at the BCM&CC.
- This link leads to a list of W.I. Tweedsmuir Community History books at the BCM&CC
- This link leads to the Federated Women’s Institute of Ontario’s Digital Collections, which include digitized versions of the W.I. Tweedsmuir Community History books.
The Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre holds thousands of images related to Bruce County events, people, and places! You may search over 20,000 image in the BCM&CC Online Collections.
Here are a few specific collections that you may also wish to browse online.
Krug Collection: Over 3,000 negative images, featuring scenes from across Bruce County, Grey County and surrounding areas, taken by Howard or Bruce Krug are viewable online. (Most online records have multiple images attached) These are part of a collection of 22,000 negative images. A full inventory of the images may be viewed and downloaded from this description: Krug Series 4, File 7 – Negative Photographs.
Postcard Collection: About 2,000 picture postcards featuring Bruce County scenes, holiday celebrations or messages from Bruce County residents are viewable through Online Collections. (If an image has not been uploaded, the BCM&CC does not have copyright clearance for online display).
Scougall Collection: Photographs (primarily glass plate negatives) taken by Kincardine photographer and town clerk John H. Scougall (1850-1922)
Thornburn Collection: Port Elgin area photographs taken by teacher and photographer J. Lindsay Thornburn (1910-1995). When viewing the results list, please note that many of the online records have multiple images attached.
Visit Us
The Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre is home to a wonderful Research Room and Archives, housed in the 1878 Southampton Public School part of the Museum. The Research Room includes the Bruce County Genealogical Society’s “Audrey Webster Underwood Library.”
Before or at your first visit, you will be asked to complete the Researcher Registration Form. You are invited to complete the form online before your visit: Researcher Regsitration Form.
Knowledgeable archives staff supervise the Research Room and are available to provide guidance concerning the most appropriate resources and/or research methods to use to achieve your goals. Published books and secondary sources are available for access in the Research Room. Upon consultation with staff, researchers may also be provided access to documents stored in our archival storage area. Stored on the shelves in the Archives is every kind of record imaginable. These records tell the story of Bruce County – both past and present – including:
- Municipal and County Government Records, including minutes, by-laws and tax rolls;
- Education Records, including minute books, financial records, and early attendance registers;
- Business/Organizational Records, including minutes, financial records and publicity records;
- Personal Papers, including letters, diaries, family histories, and more;
- Photographs and postcards
- Maps
- Businesses and organizations
- Homes and properties
- Natural history, marine history and many local topics of interest
- People and family history
The Bruce County Archives is grateful for the partnership and support of Bruce County Historical Society, Bruce County Genealogical Society, and Bruce & Grey Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.
Research Requests
Unable to visit in person? We offer a fee-based research service for some types of research requests. Fill out the form below and we will contact you about your request. *Please note, the minimum fee for completing a research request is $30.00, payable in advance.
- Research fee: $30.00 per hour, in increments of 1 hour, with a minimum fee of $30.00 + HST, payable in advance. If no resources are available relating to the request, you will be so advised in the initial ‘time/cost’ assessment, and no fee will be charged
- Self serve photocopies: 25 cents per page (legal/letter) – 50 cents per page (ledger/tabloid)
- Assisted copy service: 50 cents per page, PDF or physical copy, with a minimum fee of $15.00
- Shipping & Handling: Minimum $5.00
- Fax: $2.00 minimum
- E-mail: $2.00 per e-mail
- Plus HST
Once your information is submitted, we will contact you via email of phone to confirm payment arrangements.
Research Request Form
