Resource originally posted following a presentation by Archives’ staff to the Collingwood Branch of Architectural Conservancy Ontario in February 2009.
Resource updated April 2020.
Visitors to the Simcoe County Archives are often looking for information pertaining to their property. The reasons behind their research are many, but the resources they consult are generally the same. By using this guide researchers should gain an understanding what kind of information is available, in what type of record, and at what location. You can follow the guide from beginning to end or chose relevant sections by clicking on the links below.
Q&A
There are three different ways to identify a piece of property. To illustrate, we will use the example of the Town Hall of Collingwood.
1. Municipal Address: 97 Hurontario Street. This description can change over time as roads are renamed or closed and muncipalities amalgamate or change names.
2. Assessment Roll Number: 043 031 010 002 006 00 00 00. This description is found on your tax bill, and is useful when researching property values.
3. Legal Description: Plan 282, Lot 13 & part of Lot 14. This description is found on your tax bill and the property deed, and is necessary when researching at the Land Registry Office or in early tax assessment rolls.
When researching a property you will need any one or all of these identifiers.
One very useful tool for obtaining this information is Simcoe County Maps, a website developed by the County of Simcoe. Using the Advanced tab, users can determine which Historic Geographic Township their property was located in, what their Assessment Roll Number is, and which Lot and Concession their property is on, in addition to much more.
Simcoe County Land Registry Office
114 Worsley St, Barrie, ON L4M 1M1
https://www.ontario.ca/page/land-registry-offices-lro The Simcoe County Land Registry Office holds a number of land records useful to property owners, historians, and researchers.
Using the legal description for a property, researchers can obtain the Abstract of Title (Abstract of Conveyances). The Abstract is an index to all of the registered documents pertaining to the property. It gives basic details including the type of document (deed, mortgage, etc.), date, grantor, grantee, and monetary consideration. The left-hand column lists the instrument numbers that were assigned to the documents at the time of registration.
Early historic land registration records have now been digitized and are available through the Ontario Land Registry Access portal OnLand. In order to use the portal researchers need the following information about the property:
- Name of regional municipality
Example: Simcoe County - Name of city or township – This may include historic townships
Example: What is now Springwater Township would have included Flos Township and Vespra Township prior to amalgamation in 1994. - Lot and Concession Numbers
OR - Plan Number
65 Cedar Pointe Dr Unit 800, Barrie, ON L4N 5R7
https://www.mpac.ca/
MPAC is responsible for property assessment for the Province. A variety of information is available from the Office, including details about the actual assessment. Also available is a “Primary Structure Report” is available, for a fee, and “includes all data elements in the Parcel report with structure code and description of the primary structure(s), year built, heating type, total floor area, air conditioning, total unfinished basement area, total finished basement area. Sale amount, date for all sales that occurred in the last three years are also included.”
Archives of Ontario
134 Ian MacDonald Blvd, North York, ON M7A 2C5
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/
Patents
Once the requirements for fully acquiring a property were fulfilled a grant was issued by the government. The Patent Book for Simcoe County lists the concessions and lots for each township, the name of the person or organization to whom the patent was given, and the date when it was issued.
Land Patent Book
Nottawasaga Township
Maps and Plans
Maps can show how an area was developed over time. Original surveys can show what was planned for a town site (whether or not a plan was realized is another issue).
Wm. Gibbard’s
Survey of Collingwood
Tax Assessment Rolls
Tax rolls were completed annually and included valuations of real property. By going through the rolls you can see the usual pattern of increases and note sudden spikes in the property value. This may suggest that something happened on the property (the construction of a home, the erection of driving shed or barn), especially if it occurs at the same time as record of loan or sale was registered at the Land Registry Office. The Simcoe County Archives’ main collection of tax assessment rolls begins in 1858. Search our database to see a catalogue of our holdings.
Local Architecture Conservation Advisory Committees / Local Heritage Committees
Local Architecture Conservation Advisory Committees / Local Heritage Committees have been established in many communities. Contact your municipal office to find out if such a committee exists for your locality and, if one does, what records it has available for public research. The Collingwood Public Library holds the “Historical and Architectural Inventory of Collingwood;” a project sponsored byz the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee of Collingwood in 1978.
Building Permits
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to determine the exact date a building was constructed through building permits. The Canadian Building Code was put into effect about 1950 and the Ontario Building Code in 1975. Until then, municipalities did not necessarily issue building permits. As a result, there may be no official record as to when a house, barn or other building was erected. For those buildings which were constructed after the arrival of the Building Code, permits can usually be accessed at municipal offices. Retention periods vary, however, so consult with the clerk or records manager of your municipality.
Census Returns of Buildings, Lands, Churches, and Schools
As well as information about the populace, data pertaining to agricultural activities as well as buildings, lands, churches and schools was also gathered. The lands and building returns for 1861, 1871 and 1901 still survive and are available on microfilm; and on-line for 1901.
Fire Insurance Plans
These plans were created for the use of insurance companies, and were periodically updated. They still exist for a wide number of communities. Information to be found on them includes construction materials, site of water sources for fire suppression, and type of business or industry.
Architectural Drawings
In order to build a structure, plans of some kind have to be used. Check local directories to see what architects or builders were operating in the area at the time you believe your building was constructed, and then enquire about the evolution of the businesses. The Simcoe County Archives holds drawings by John Wilson (1881-1944) and Carswell & Griesbach (1924-1968), among others.
Photographs
Photographs can assist you in determining a date range for construction. General views, street scenes, and aerials can give you a pictorial history of buildings, landscaping, and structures such as lamps, fences, and gates.
Hurontario Street, Collingwood
Newspapers
Newspapers contained the local buzz, so you may find an article where a large new home with all of the latest conveniences was being built for one of the doctors or lawyers.
Many homeowners want to know more about their property than the lot size and the age of the bricks and mortar. Information about people can be found in a variety of records.
Census
Census returns of the population are available for Simcoe County Municipalities for 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911; returns for the former Ontario County municipalities of Rama and Mara are available from 1851 to 1911. Microfilm copies are held at the Simcoe County Archives. On-line transcriptions of and indexes to Simcoe County census are available for all years, and digital images of the 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 census are available on the Library and Archives Canada website.
Tweedsmuir Histories
The ladies of the local branches of the Women’s Institutes deserve a great amount of praise for the work they have done to gather together information about the small communities of the country. Named after Lady Tweedsmuir, who was very interested in the activities of the W.I., the Histories contain a wide variety of document and written summaries about people, farms, homes, churches, schools, halls, parks, and heritage sites.
Directories
Like census records, directories place people and businesses in a specific place at a specific point in time. The street directory can also help with the placing of buildings within town blocks. 1933 Vernon’s Directory
Business Records
Records of private businesses, as well as organizations, provide a day-to-day perspective of activities.