MISSION:
“Our Mandate is to acquire, preserve and make available to the public, records of enduring value to Middlesex Centre and in particular to the former Townships of Delaware, Lobo, London and Portions of Westminster.”
ABOUT US:
In the early 2000’s a number of citizens from the Municipality of Middlesex Centre, the City of London and Middlesex County met on a regular basis in the hope of establishing a regional Archives. When this proposal was rejected, a group from the Middlesex Centre Historical Society decided to try to establish a Middlesex Centre Archives instead. With the support of the Mayor, Council and staff of the Municipality, the Middlesex Centre Archives was established in 2013. In 2016 the Archives was incorporated through the Ontario Historical Society, and in 2017 we received charitable status from Revenue Canada. We are also a member of the Archives Association of Ontario.
In 2015 we were able to hire a part-time Archivist through a 2-year Trillium grant, and also in 2017 through a 1-year DHCP Federal grant. With direction provided by our Archivist, we were able to begin organizing the collection to recognized archival standards.
In addition to these grants for hiring an Archivist, we have been fortunate to receive a number of financial donations from individuals, local companies, and community and service organizations to help us continue our work.
Over the last three years our archival donations have grown to the extent that we are now renting additional space in Delaware for storage, meetings and sorting of materials.
We now have around 30 members, including about 10 volunteers who work at the Archives on a regular basis under the direction of our Archivist. To-date, our volunteers have accumulated over 12,000 volunteer hours and have processed over 500 archival donations, some of which consisted of over 50 banker boxes of materials each.
We continue to make numerous presentations, workshops and displays in our community each year in order to promote the Archives and its work. We have helped over 200 visitors research historic information about the people and/or organizations in Middlesex Centre.
We are always looking for more volunteers to help us continue with our work. If you or someone you know would be interested, please contact us for more information. Financial donations are also appreciated, and we are able to issue tax receipts for any donation of $20 or more.
OUR GOALS:
- Continue to collect and protect the documentary heritage of the community.
- Develop and grow as a recognized municipal archive.
- Continue to fundraise to continue our work.
OUTREACH:
- Participate in various local functions including:
- Poplar Hill School Picnic
- Ilderton Fair
- Canada Day
- Heritage Week Events
- Archives Awareness Week
- Other activities that may arise
ARCHIVAL DONATIONS ACCEPTED:
- Local histories, genealogies, publications
- Old account books, minute books
- Social organization records
- Church and cemetery records
- Local business records
- Family histories
- Historical photographs and letters
- Former Township records