City Parks History

Parks are built and maintained for the use of the public. The two cities of Port Arthur and Fort William began over 100 years ago to develop the parks we still enjoy today. This exhibit allows you to explore the history of six city parks, and also provides an overview of Parks and Recreation programs and development in the City of Thunder Bay.

Parks development began as early as 1871 in Port Arthur and 1902 in Fort William. Both towns had designated plots of land as parkland, before even being incorporated as cities. Port Arthur began developing its first park, Waverley Park, in 1871, and Fort William started forming its first park, Vickers Park, in 1902.

History of the Thunder Bay Parks Department

A typed document on white paper with black ink

Title: History of the Parks and Recreation Department
Date: September 3, 1980
Creators: Marlene Stirrett, City of Thunder Bay
Description: This document summarizes the history of the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Thunder Bay, as of 1980. It touches upon the development of the aquatics programmes, sports fields, and playground sites.
Series: 198, Thunder Bay Parks and Recreation Reference Files
Location: TBA 5751-28

A typed document on white paper with black ink

Title: History of the Thunder Bay Parks and Recreation Department
Date: 1987
Creators: Marlene Stirrett Matson
Description: This historical perspective of the Parks and Recreation Department spans from 1883 to 1987. It examines the formation of the Parks Boards and accounts for the origins of the Civic Recreation Committees. It provides context as to when parks opened and when recreational services were made available to the public.
Series: 198, Thunder Bay Parks and Recreation Reference Files
Location: TBA 5751

Formation of the Port Arthur and Fort William Parks Boards

the front page of a notebook faded from age

A copies page of a notebook that has faded from age

A copy of a document in a notebook faded from age

Title: Town of Porft Arthur - By-Law Number 203 adopting the Public Park Act
Date: 1888
Creators: Town of Port Arthur
Description: The Town of Port Arthur adopts the "Public Park Act." With the implementation of this By-Law, Port Arthur created the first Board of Parks Management in all of Ontario.
Series: 19, Port Arthur By-Laws
Location: TBA 0102-03

A typed document photocopied from a notebook faded from age

Title: City of Fort William - By-Law Number 735 - A By-Law to adopt the Public Parks Act
Date: January 11, 1910
Creators: City of Fort William
Description: With this By-Law, the City of Fort William adopted the Public Parks Act and established a Parks Board.
Series: 3, Fort William By-Laws
Location: TBA 0147-001

Chronology

A typed document on white paper with black ink

Title: Historical Development of Parks and Recreation in Thunder Bay
Date: 1987
Creators: City of Thunder Bay Parks and Recreation Department
Description: This chronology shows the major park developments from 1871 to 1984.
Series: 363, Thunder Bay Parks Technicians' Files
Location: TBA 8181-14

A typed document on white paper with black ink

Title: History of Thunder Bay Parks, Volume 1 and Volume 2
Date: [198-?]
Creators: [Unknown]
Description: This chronology is a draft outline for a history of parks. However, it serves as an historical overview for a large number of parks.
Series: 363, Thunder Bay Parks Technicians' Files
Location: TBA 5751-29

Did You Know? 31 Fun Facts:

During the 1980s, the Parks and Recreation Department employed researchers to examine the histories of parks in Port Arthur, Fort William, and Thunder Bay. This document, containing 31 fun facts, resulted from that research.

A biege cover page with black typed writing A typed document on white paper with black ink

Title: City of Thunder Bay, Parks and Recreation - Items of Interest about City Parks
Date: ca. 1988
Creators: Parks and Recreation Department, City of Thunder Bay
Description: This document highlights some interesting facts about the origins, development, and activities of some of the parks in Fort William and Port Arthur.
Series: 197, Thunder Bay Facility Enterprise Manager's Administrative Files
Location: TBA 5674-32

Parks Facilities List: A master list of all the parks in Thunder Bay, at the time of amalgamation.

A map of the Thunder Bay area which marks the location of parks

Parks Quiz: How well do you know Thunder Bay's parks? Identify which park each photograph shows.

Children playing on a slide in a black and white photograph

About this Exhibit

This exhibit details the history of parks in the City of Thunder Bay.

The exhibit was created using information and graphic material available to the public from the City of Thunder Bay Archives, the Thunder Bay Public Library, and the Thunder Bay Historical Museum. Information and support have also been provided by the City of Thunder Bay's Parks Division. The textual records seen in this exhibit cover the time period from 1890 to 2012, and the photographic images range from 1880 to 2011.

Archival series referred to in this exhibit include the following:

Fort William By-Laws (Series 3)
Fort William City Clerk's Files (Series 4)
Fort William Board of Parks Management Minutes (Series 5)
Port Arthur By-Laws (Series 19)
Port Arthur Parks and Recreation Files (Series 28)
Port Arthur Board of Parks Management Minutes (Series 44)
Port Arthur Board of Park Management Records (Series 48)
Fort William Agreements (Series 86)
Thunder Bay City Clerk's Files (Series 117)
Fort William Parks & Recreation Files (Series 121)
Thunder Bay Central Files (Series 156)
Private Donation Collection Photographs - Fulton (Series 250)
Thunder Bay Community Recreation Manager's Files (Series 261)
Thunder Bay Parks Technicians' Files (Series 363)

Some personal information has been removed to protect the privacy of individuals.

For more information on this subject, or any other subject of interest, please visit or contact the City of Thunder Bay Archives.

For more information on the current status of Thunder Bay's parks, visit Recreation and Parks. You are also invited to participate in an Ontario Trails Council survey for Centennial Park, Boulevard Lake, Chapples Park, and the Neebing River Parkway.

A cut out section of the Port Arthur By-law for Parks Department