Forms part of Fonds 1, City of Winnipeg (1874-1971): Series 82 consists of items contained in a casket prepared by City Council for placement in the cornerstone of the City's first city hall.

Not long after incorporation, City Council proposed construction of a city hall. A site on Main Street between William and Market Avenues was selected. On August 17, 1875, the cornerstone of the new city hall was laid with Masonic honors by Grand Master the Rev. Dr. Clark and officers of the Grand Lodge. A civic holiday was declared to mark the occasion, and speeches were made by Chief Justice Wood, the Hon. R. S. Davis, Premier of Manitoba, and American Consul James Wickes Taylor. At the ceremony, a casket was deposited into the cornerstone ' the casket contained coins, bills, newspapers and photographs of the City. Today, such a box would be called a time capsule.

Completed in 1876 and formally opened on March 14 of that year, the first city hall suffered chronic structural problems. Repairs were attempted, but were not successful, and for some time, the building was propped up with wooden braces until it was finally judged unsound and demolished in 1883. At demolition, the casket was removed and eventually placed into the cornerstone of the second city hall. When this building was demolished in 1962, the caskets were moved to a bank safety deposit box and then to the Archives.

Part of City of Winnipeg (1874-1971) fonds. Series consists of records created and maintained by the City Engineer and Engineering Department.

Forms part of Fonds 1. Series consists of by-laws for the City of Winnipeg pre-unicity (1874-1971). By-laws are municipal laws that were passed or amended by City Council. By-laws relate to City land development, regulations, local improvements, street names/openings/closings, authorization of agreements, finance/taxation, governance/administration, and amendments to previous by-laws.

Original by-laws dating 1874-1971 exist in a set of trifolds and are numbered 1-19876. By-laws are numbered chronologically according to date created.

Assessment rolls record the assessed values of property within the City of Winnipeg.

Forms part of Fonds 1: Series consists of records created, accumulated and used by the City Clerk's Department to run elections for Mayor, Councilors and School Trustees and to record the vote on money by-laws, referenda and plebiscites. The records document the development of election processes including those designed to implement proportional representation in 1920; disputes regarding the counting of the vote and judicial recounts; nomination papers and oaths of office; staffing of election polls; preparation of voters lists; sample posters, ballots and other documentation created to facilitate the electoral process; and voters lists.

The records consist of three sub-series:

Sub-Series 4:Nominations and Results, 1874-1970

Sub-Series 5: Election Working Papers, 1874-1970

Sub-Series 6:Voters Lists, 1881-1970

Forms part of Fonds 1. Series consists of the minutes, communications, and reports of the Committee on Finance, and the records of its sub-committee, the Committee on Finance Claims.

The minutes, communications, and reports of the Finance Committee contain a wide range of information relating to works undertaken by the City, program administration, policy implementation, employment practices, and fiscal accountability of the City for the provision of services under Committee jurisdiction.

The records consist of 4 subseries:

Subseries 34: Minutes, 1883-1906, 1919-1971.

Subseries 35: Communications, 1874-1971.

Subseries 36: Reports, 1874-1903.

Subseries 37: Committee on Finance Claims, 1954-1971.

Forms part of Fonds 1. Series consists of the records of the Committee on Public Improvements and Works, a standing committee of Council from 1874-1971. Most minute volumes include original indexes.

The records consist of 3 subseries:

Subseries 45: Minutes, 1876-1971.

Subseries 46: Communications, 1903-1971.

Subseries 47: Registers, 1892-1950.

Forms part of Fonds 1. Series includes City of Winnipeg Council Minutes dating 1874-1971, which briefly recount the proceedings of council meetings and are the official, legal record of decisions made by Council. Recorded decisions reveal municipal governance, resource allocation, and service delivery. Minutes also refer to topics debated, reports considered, by-laws introduced, communications received, decisions reached and votes taken during council meetings. Council minutes are a rich and detailed source of information about the history of the City of Winnipeg, and provide understanding of issues past and present in city politics.

Minutes dating up until 1912 are handwritten.

Handwritten indices begin in 1878 for early minute books.

Forms part of Fonds 1. Series consists of all surviving correspondence directed toward the City Council of Winnipeg via the City Clerk, with the exception of those items of correspondence that were filed with other series at the time of creation and/or use. Correspondence dates from the first year of the City of Winnipeg's incorporation in 1874 until 1971.

Civic employees, citizens of Winnipeg, and any other persons interested in communicating with the municipal government of Winnipeg wrote to City Council on a wide variety of topics, including civic administration (e.g. by-laws, elections, etc.), local improvements and developments (e.g. sanitation, the water supply, schools, parks, streets, traffic, bridges, etc.), invitations to conventions and other events, legal disputes, and assessments and taxation, among other issues.

Originally all correspondence was enclosed in a City Clerk's cover page to form a packet, which was then assigned a number. The packet was then folded twice and placed in pack boxes in chronological order. The numbering scheme was started anew several times over the years.

Forms part of Fonds 1. The duties of the Committee on Public Health and Welfare were: to consider and report to Council on matters pertaining to public health, sanitation, licensing, public markets and weigh houses, comfort stations, and some library matters; to report to Council on the work of the Health Department after its formation in 1900; to act as an agent for the Dominion and/or Provincial governments; to liaise with agencies outside of Winnipeg that received or provided services; and to assist persons on social assistance to find employment.

The minutes, communications and reports of the Committee on Public Health and Welfare and the City of Winnipeg Health Department trace decision making, program administration and fiscal accountability of the City for the provision of services under Committee jurisdiction.

The records consist of three sub-series:

Sub-Series 1:Minutes, 1876-1971

Sub-Series 2:Committee on Public Health and Welfare Communications, 1874-1971. Files arranged variously in chronological or file number order.

Sub-Series 3:Reports, Monthly and Annual, Health Department, 1908-1968.

Forms part of Fonds 1. Series consists of statutory declarations signed by incoming aldermen, mayors and civic officials. Most declarations are made on printed forms and contain the name and position of the person signing the declaration, as well as information on land ownership in the case of persons elected to council. Included in the series are declarations for the first Mayor of the City of Winnipeg, Francis Cornish, and the first City Clerk for the City of Winnipeg, Alexander MacDougall Brown. The series is not complete. Declarations are also found in Series 2, Election Records.

Forms part of Fonds 1, City of Winnipeg (1874-1971): Series 83 consists of items contained in a casket prepared by City Council for placement in the cornerstone of the City's second city hall.

Shortly after Winnipeg's first city hall was demolished in 1883, City Council called for plans and specifications to construct a second city hall. The cornerstone for this new building was laid on July 20, 1884 by Mayor Logan, with speeches from Captain Scott, Aldermen Mulvey, Wilson and Drewry and American Consul James Wickes Taylor, among others. The casket from Winnipeg's first city hall was placed into the cornerstone for the new city hall, along with a second smaller casket which contained a number of civic publications, coins and photographs.

Affectionately known as the "Gingerbread" building, the second city hall served Winnipeg until it was demolished in 1962 to make way for construction of the new civic centre. Upon demolition, the caskets were removed and opened and the contents moved to a bank safety deposit box and then to the Archives.

Forms part of Fonds 1: Series consists of bound minute books for special committees struck by Council. The minute books are chronological and each one contains minutes for multiple special committees active during a given timeframe. In most volumes, a list of special committees and their respective page numbers are recorded on the first few pages of the volume. Not all special committees appear in volume listings and not all page references are complete. Most special committees have associated correspondence and working papers in addition to minutes. These records are separate from minutes. From about 1924 onward, special committees and their associated files were assigned an alpha-numeric code beginning with the letter "A".

Council established special committees to investigate and manage various projects, issues and questions placed before the City. Special committees were typically struck by a Council motion that outlined committee composition and responsibilities, and permanently adjourned once the issue had been resolved or referred to Council with a recommended course of action.

Series consists of the June 18, 1888 Report of the Secretary of the Joint Committee on Colonization of the City Council and Board of Trade; June 16, 1888 Report of Mr. McNee, Agent; June 15, 1888 Report of Mr. Woods, Agent; June 14, 1888 Report of Mr. Smith, Agent at Station. The reports provide details regarding the agent's work, places visited, and the volume of materials distributed.

Forms part of Fonds 1. The Winnipeg Board of Parks and Recreation was responsible for managing all public parks located in the City of Winnipeg. The Board had the power to employ appropriate staff; pass by-laws regarding the use, protection and governance of City parks; assess and levy rates to cover costs for park improvements; and to acquire, expropriate and dispose of land for park purposes. The Board was required to keep records regarding its decisions and financial transactions.

The minutes, by-laws, communications and reports of the Winnipeg Board of Parks and Recreation trace the development of public park space in Winnipeg.

The records consist of five sub-series:

Sub-Series 10:Minutes, 1893-1964

Sub-Series 11:Minutes, Standing and Special Committees, 1893-1964

Sub-Series 12:Communications, 1901-1931. Bound Letter Press volumes and loose correspondence

Sub-Series 13: Reports, 1892-1971

Sub-Series 14:By-Laws, 1928-1963

Forms part of Fonds 1. Series consists of the minutes and communications of the Committee on Legislation and Reception, a standing committee of Council.

The records consist of two subseries:

Subseries 41: Minutes, 1895-1896, 1918-1957 .

Subseries 42: Communications, 1910-1971 .

Forms part of Fonds 1: Series consists of publications produced by the City Clerk's Department on an annual basis. Information was gathered from city departments and includes a broad range of data, past and present, reflecting Winnipeg's political and administrative structure and general activities under the City's jurisdiction. Volumes contain historical facts, election results, a description of Council, appointments to Standing and Special Committees and Public Boards, descriptions of civic departments and statistics on services delivered by the City. The first issue in 1904 consisted of only 20 pages. The manual changed over the years and grew in size as new material was added. The series continues after the formation of Unicity in 1972.

Forms part of Fonds 1. Series consists of the Minutes and corresponding packfiles, and communications files, of the City of Winnipeg's Board of Control.

Groups of records in this series include bound minute books (1907-1918) which record the minutes of Board of Control meetings, and refer to corresponding Packfiles which contain detailed records of the many responsibilities and transactions of the executive body of the city council. These numbered files include letters sent and received, board of valuation and revision forms, blueprints, accounts, financial reports and weekly water statistics.

A second group of Packfiles consists of Communications records (1906-1915), which correspond with Letter Registers.

A third group of Packfiles consists of the Board of Control Appropriation Balances.

Bound volumes include the Board of Control Claims Committee, Board of Control Costs Records, Record of Works Ordered, and Letter Registers.

Forms part of Fonds 1. Series consists of minutes and financial records of the Committee on Public Playgrounds for Winnipeg, the Playgrounds Association of the City of Winnipeg and the Playgrounds Commission as well as minutes for various special or sub-committees formed to undertake specific tasks. The minutes are in chronological order.