Showing 18 results

Archival description
Box Inventory
2000.1.4 · Series · 1950-1998
Part of Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd. fonds

The Cassiar Asbestos Corporation and townsite records encompass a massive archival holding of approximately 1,600 bankers boxes. A box level inventory was created by student employees of the archives over a 15-year period. This inventory is provided here for access purposes only and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

In 1952 the Cassiar Asbestos Mining Corporation constructed an asbestos open-pit mine and mill and created a town site for its workers that became the town of Cassiar, British Columbia, 50 miles south of the Yukon border, and 80 miles north of Dease Lake. For 40 years Cassiar was a thriving asbestos mining town with a population at its peak of about 2500, with production statistics for 1989, recording over 60 million tonnes of ore mined, producing a billion dollars of new wealth. In 1989 Cassiar added an underground mine to the site, and despite attempts to run it profitably, in 1992 the entire mine closed partially due to the global market decline in the demand for asbestos, resulting in the closure of the town, and the move of its workers and families out of Cassiar. An auction was held to sell off all the mining equipment, townsite infrastructure, its buildings, people’s residences and the site was bull-dozed, with many houses burned to the ground. Today little remains in this remote area of Northern British Columbia to mark Cassiar’s industrial, economic or social history.

In 1992 the University of Northern British Columbia acquired the holdings of CAMC and the Cassiar townsite recognizing its potential for academic research, as the records could provide insight into natural resource industry extraction operations in Northern BC from mid to late 20th century, illustrative of ‘boom & bust’ industries, and to provide context to the development of the Cassiar Asbestos Mining Corporation and the history of the ‘life’ of a one-industry company town. The holdings document mining operations by CAMC and of the town site of Cassiar, originally consisting of the equivalent of 1800+ bankers’ boxes, including records on construction, engineering, operations, administration of CAMC, tallies of extractions, labour and union activities, corporate events and visits by dignitaries (including Prime Minister Trudeau who visited CAMC’s northern operations unit in Clinton Creek in 1968 and M.P. Iona Campagnolo in 1978). As CAMC was owner of both the mine and the Cassiar town, the company provided municipal services (i.e. sewer, water, and electricity) for its workers and their families. The archived municipal records document townsite construction, including the creation of health, education and community services such as Cassiar’s private hospital, school, library, community centre, hockey arena, and retail store. The holdings also include extensive visual documentation of natural and man-man landscapes within this remote and scenic area of Northern British Columbia. The formats of the archival holdings are diverse consisting of textual, photographic, cartographic materials, electronic records, films, promotional video-recordings, and a near complete run of the Cassiar community’s print newspaper.

2009.7.3 · Series · 1878-1929
Part of Archdeacon W. H. Collison fonds

Maps within this series document the placer streams, islands and harbours of the Queen Charlotte Islands; as well as the mining properties located within the vicinity of Stewart, BC.

Correspondence
2000.15.2 · Series · 1895 - 1896
Part of Bullion Mines Collection

Series consists of one file of letters and notes from October 31, 1895 to March 30, 1896 concerning the purchase of dynamite for the mine.

Employee Timetables
2013.6.12 · Series · [before 2012]
Part of David Davies Railway Collection

Series consists of employee timetables for the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Canadian National Railway, the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, BC Rail, the Great Northern Railway, the Great Northern Railway, the Burlington Northern Railway, the BC Electric Railway, and the BC Harbours Board Railway. Also known as “working timetables”, these are a valuable research tool that include timings at every station or other significant location along the train's journey, the train's reporting number, its maximum speed, and any other information relevant to the operation of the train.

General
2013.6.01 · Series · [before 2011]
Part of David Davies Railway Collection

Series consists of general histories, statistics, and sources for railway subjects, which predominantly consist of photocopy reproductions and clippings from periodicals. Most documents are Canada-wide in scope.

Ledgers
2000.15.1 · Series · 1894 - 1926
Part of Bullion Mines Collection

Series consists of 6 ledgers which record expenses for the mine and various other company owned premises in town.

Ledgers and Journals
2017.7.2 · Series · 1942-2008
Part of S. B. Trick Lumber Co. fonds

Series consists of two ledgers and two journals. The two ledgers consist of logging accounts including lumber shipments and sales as well as payroll and expenditures. The two journals include handwritten maintenance notes and loose papers of diagrams of equipment.

Locomotives
2013.6.10 · Series · [before 2012]
Part of David Davies Railway Collection

Series consists of research material relating to steam and diesel locomotives that were used on British Columbia railways. Includes information about the steam to diesel transition period, details about specific locomotives, locomotive manufacturers, and self-propelled coaches.

Oversize Material
2013.6.35 · Series · 1909-2011
Part of David Davies Railway Collection

Series consists of large format maps and plans relating to railways in British Columbia and Canada. Also includes oversize documents.

Photographic Material
2000.1.1 · Series · 1951-1992
Part of Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd. fonds

The Photographic Materials series consists of 6100 photographs, 900 slides and negatives documenting a wide variety of subject areas pertaining to both the operations of Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd., and the company township of Cassiar, B.C. Types of subject areas found within this series include, but are not limited to: mine, plant, labour, and townsite operations at the company towns of Cassiar and Clinton Creek (including community activities associated therein and townsite development); construction of plant and mine buildings ; mines and equipment not owned by Cassiar Asbestos Corporation, but which are believed to have been used for operational research purposes ; aerial photographs ; company exploration of further mineral deposits outside of Cassiar ; official tours ; community images, promotional material ; executive portraits. The Photographic Materials series has been further subdivided into the following 4 subseries: Exploration & Development, Construction, General (Mining) Operations & (Townsite) Community Operations, and Corporate Affairs.

Photographs
2002.1.9 · Series · 1900-1986
Part of Prince George Railway & Forestry Museum Collection

Consists of photographs depicting the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, the British Columbia Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the Canadian National Railway. Also includes photographs of various forestry-related scenes.

Photographs
2004.2.1 · Series · [ca. 1898]-1960, prominent 1900-1920
Part of Reverend R.W. Large fonds

The images consists primarily of 130+ photographs taken by or belonging to Reverend R.W. Large, MD which depict communities on the Northwest Coast between approximately 1898 and 1920 including Bella Bella, Rivers Inlet, and Port Simpson, including native villages in which Reverend Large worked. Images show scenes of native fishing, canneries, mission hospitals, churches, girls schools, portraits of native families, and Northwest Coast totems. Other images include 25+ photographs and postcards from the Large family depicting ships and boats on the North Coast.

Photographs
2013.6.36 · Series · [before 2013]
Part of David Davies Railway Collection

Series consists of graphic material depicting railways in British Columbia. Includes prints, negatives, and postcards.

Photographs
2009.7.1 · Series · [ca. 1873 - ca. 1939]
Part of Archdeacon W. H. Collison fonds

Series consists of images pertaining the Collison family, North Coastal First Nations communities, means of transportation along North Coastal British Columbia, and various church structures and religious events.

Photographs
2000.13.1 · Series · 1914 - 1997
Part of Ray Williston fonds

Series consists of photographs relating to Ray Williston's life from childhood to recent times, air photographs of Prince George, photographs of Bangladesh, and a listing of photographs slated for use in Mr. Williston's biography "Forests, power and policy: the legacy of Ray Williston" written by Eileen Williston and Betty Keller.

Publications
2000.1.3 · Series · 1956-1991
Part of Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd. fonds

The Publications series consists of news bulletins and newspapers documenting the community and work life of the residents of Cassiar, BC. Content includes text and photographs, as well as jokes, comics and games.

On March 7, 1956 the Cassiar Reporters Guild published one issue of an untitled newspaper simply titled “The Cassiar?” (vol.1, no.1) along with a “name that newspaper” contest call out to the local community. It is believed that no other issue of this first volume was published until December 7, 1957 when The Asbestos Sheet (vol.2, no.1) was published. The Asbestos Sheet, was generally published twice a month and ran from December 1957 to September 1976; after which time both its name and its format changed: the 8-1/2 x 10” news bulletin changing to an 11 x 17” newspaper; and The Asbestos Sheet becoming the Cassiar Courier. The Courier was published monthly from fall 1976 until February 1991 when it stopped circulation shortly before the closure of both the mine and the company town.

Rolling Stock
2013.6.11 · Series · [before 2011]
Part of David Davies Railway Collection

Series consists of articles, clippings, and other research material related to rolling stock used on British Columbia railways. Although the term “rolling stock” encompasses all vehicles that move on a railway, some material regarding rolling stock is filed separately, such as locomotives (see series 2013.6.11). Includes information about passenger cars, freight cars, and non-revenue cars (cabooses, cranes, service cars, etc.).