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Online Exhibits
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Emeri Paré’s Police Logbooks
Emeri Paré’s logbooks offer fascinating insights into Coquitlam during the First World War, documenting a wide array of incidents – from complaints about stray dogs to thefts, car accidents, and investigations into murder and suicide.
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Don Cunnings: City Champion
Don Cunnings, who served as Coquitlam’s first Parks and Recreation director, and worked for the city for nearly forty years, had a profound impact on the lives of Coquitlam’s citizens and citizens of the Lower Mainland.
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Fraser Mills Logbook Illuminates South Asian Millworkers
This web exhibit will discuss a recent collaboration with The South Asian Canadian Digital Archive.
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Archives 101
As the City of Coquitlam Archives celebrates its tenth anniversary we thought it would be good to go back to basics and offer up an Archives 101.
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Archives in Bloom: The Organic Nature of the Fonds
What comes to mind when you think of archives or archival documents? Are you picturing dust? Yellowed paper? Momentous decisions written in stone – or rather, ink?
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The Corporation of the District of Fraser Mills fonds
Did you know that all archives have backlogs? Archivists define backlogs as records that have been acquired but have yet to be processed. Backlogs grow because processing archival records — or arranging and describing in archival parlance — is labour intensive. In 2014, Library and Archives Canada (Canada’s National Archives) announced plans to eliminate a whopping 98,000 container backlog! Happily, due to the excellent work of City of Coquitlam Archives staff our backlog is small and navigable allowing investigation into ‘often untold stories’.
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Community Records
The City of Coquitlam Archives is the home for a variety of City records, including Bylaws and Council Meeting Minutes, but did you know that the archives also houses records of people and organizations from the local community?
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Coquitlam in Other Archives
Did you know that other Archives in British Columbia also hold records that relate to Coquitlam and Coquitlamites? In this web exhibit, we will explore this cache of records and search for Coquitlam in other Archives.
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There and Back Again: A Salmon’s Tale
Have you seen art depicting salmon all over the City of Coquitlam? There’s a reason for it! Salmon run through Coquitlam’s history and are tightly woven in to the area’s identity.
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Catch the Spirit! The 1991 B.C. Summer Games
Thirty years ago, in 1991, Coquitlam was celebrating its centennial, and marked this auspicious anniversary by hosting the B.C. Summer Games.
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Rising Water: The Great Flood of 1948
This online exhibit discusses the impacts of the flood on the region and showcases photographs of the flood from Fraser Mills and Colony Farm that are preserved at the City of Coquitlam Archives.
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From Accession to Access: The Art of Archival Processing
In this exhibit, we will walk you through how we process records here at the City of Coquitlam Archives, using the recently completed ArtsConnect Tri Cities Arts Council fonds as an example.
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Built History: Coquitlam’s Heritage Homes
Over the years, Coquitlam has designated 27 buildings through heritage designation bylaws. The designation means that the structure or property cannot be altered, moved, or subdivided without a heritage alteration permit.
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School Life for a Student Psychiatric Nurse
Through photographs, ephemera, and documents, this exhibit explores the delicate balance of the student psychiatric nurses’ demanding school life and their social diversions and recreation.
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Fixing a Moment in Time
Photographs are a window to the past, forever capturing a moment in time and fixing it to a physical carrier that can be preserved and cherished. But how can we ensure that our photographs will be around for generations to come? And what do we do when our precious photographs begin to fall apart?
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An Emerging Profession: Psychiatric Nursing
The exhibit provides a brief history of psychiatric nursing in British Columbia and highlights photographs, documents, and ephemera from the Riverview Hospital Historical Society collection, preserved by the City of Coquitlam Archives.
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Coquitlam Centre: 40 Years in the Community
To mark the 40th Anniversary of Coquitlam Centre, this exhibit explores the history of the mall by showcasing some of the photographs and newspaper records preserved by the City of Coquitlam Archives.
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Westwood Racing Circuit, 1959 to 1990
Did you know that Coquitlam was home to Canada’s first purpose-built road racing circuit? For more than 30 years, the sounds of revving engines and cheering fans could be heard high up on the mountain at Westwood Racing Circuit.
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Legen-dairy Holstein Herd of Colony Farm
In its “hay-day”, the Holstein Herd at Colony Farm was considered to be “undoubtedly the finest herd of black and white cattle in the world” (BC Holstein News, 1980). Colony Farm regularly took top prizes at the Pacific National Exhibition and other Canadian agricultural fairs and, over the years, its dairy herd of approximately 450 head provided foundation stock for virtually all of the Province's dairy farms. This exhibit explores the Holstein Herd at Colony Farm, its legen-“dairy” production, and its instrumental role in the development of mental health services in the province.
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Archives on the Move
Since 2013, the Archives has been located in a small office space on the ground floor of City Hall. Over the past six years, the program has expanded and the success of the acquisitions program meant that the Archives rapidly outgrew its space at City Hall sooner than expected. By the beginning of 2018, it was time to find a new home.
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Bird's Eye View: Coquitlam From Above
Aerial photographs allow us to see the evolution of a place over time. We can see neighbourhoods emerge, observe development patterns, and learn about the how the landscape has changed. Aerial photographs help us to understand how individual places make up the whole of the community and how that community has evolved over time.
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May Day - The Celebration of Spring
The days are getting longer, the flowers are blooming, and spring is in full swing. People have been celebrating the coming of spring for thousands of years and for many years, Coquitlam was no exception. The City of Coquitlam Archives has a significant collection of photographs and records related to the celebration of May Day here in Coquitlam. This exhibit explores the history of May Day and its observance in Coquitlam and presents some of the wonderful records we hold in the Archives.
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Scrapbooks - Fragile Time Capsules
This exhibit showcases a selection of 20th Century scrapbooks held at the City of Coquitlam Archives. These wonderful records are valued for the perspectives they offer on their particular themes and for the specific histories they document. Scrapbooks are a reflection of their time and provide insight into the period they depict, which may be very different from today.
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Plywood - The Material of Unlimited Uses
The Canadian Western Lumber Company Limited was the first producer of plywood in Canada, commencing production in 1913 in Fraser Mills. The City of Coquitlam Archives holds company records such as schematics of machinery and technologies used, and advertising materials from the 1940s to the 1960s. This exhibit showcases some items from this collection as well as other related items in the Archives.
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Coquitlam's Changing Boundaries
July 25, 2017 marks 126 years since the first Letters Patent were signed, creating the Corporation of the District of Coquitlam. Since then, subsequent Letters Patent have redefined Coquitlam’s boundaries and the composition of its administration, all leading to the City of Coquitlam we know today. This online exhibit explores Coquitlam’s administrative history and the changes to its boundaries over time. It also showcases the tremendous conservation work that has been undertaken to save one of Coquitlam’s earliest documents.
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"Don't Forget Your Dadie": Coquitlam Family & WW1
Alexander Windram was born on February 21, 1881 in Eyemouth, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada in 1910 with his wife, Mary and young son, John, and began working as a steamfitter at Fraser Mills. While building their lives in the growing mill town, the family welcomed another son, Andrew, and a daughter, Elsie. The family had not long settled when the First World War broke out.