• The Archives became a formal component of the Onoway Museum in 2014, primarily as a result of the large number of school registers that became part of the collection. A set of policies was developed to enable an archives to be established, complementary to the collection of the Onoway Museum.

• A team of volunteers began entering the data to make these registers searchable. The vast majority of registers are from Beaupre / Onoway Schools (over 1,200 registers) but the collection includes many of the now defunct one-room schools as well as schools in Lac Ste. Anne County. Nearly 3,000 school registers have been entered in the database so it is possible to search for a specific school, year, teacher, etc.

• Some of the registers go back as far as 1909 and others are as recent as 1990.

For most of the defunct schools, the number of registers in the collection is very limited.

• Volunteers are now working on documents that have accumulated since the museum's opening in 2007. These include records from organizations and individuals in the Onoway area.
  

• Records include school registers, account books and tax rolls from municipal government bodies (school districts, village council), minute and account books of organizations and clubs, photographs, newspaper clippings, municipal maps, letters, receipts, DVDs, calendars, event programs - there are no limits!

• Videorecordings (on DVD) conducted as part of the Guild's Oral History project are housed in the Archives.

• Village of Onoway Tax Assessment records.

• Some of the community organizations searchable to date are:

• Some of the individuals and families whose documents are in the archives include:

Pine Ridge Tax Assessment 1909

• The Archives will accept historical materials of any medium, including manuscripts, textual records, photographs and other visual records, maps, and plans.

• This includes documents from clubs and organizations (minute books, financial records, newspaper clippings, photographs of activities, correspondence, etc.) as well as from individuals (letters, military documents, photographs, municipal assessments, report cards, certificates of birth/wedding, etc.). The goal is to document local history and make this available for research.
  

• Individuals may bring documents, etc. they wish to donate to the museum. The Collection Committee will review the materials and, based on guidelines that have been set, determine whether any or all of the materials fit those guidelines. Upon acceptance, the donor must sign a Deed of Gift relinquishing ownership of the materials to the Onoway and District Historical Guild.

• It may be helpful to contact the museum prior to bringing in materials. A visit to the Archives and discussion of how the materials in the Archives serve the community may be of value.

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