This sub-series consists of various photographs, photograph albums, and reports with photographs relating to the Canadian National Land Settlement Association.
Photographs and Albums: Many of the photographs come from the accession Canadian National Railways Collection 1967-131. In this accession, there are over 3,000 prints and negatives documenting the colonization of land throughout Canada by immigrant settlers. There are approximately 2,400 original envelopes, 3,189 prints and six boxes of uncounted negatives. The photographs document the individual families, as well as their farms and the progress they have made. In addition to this, there are also many prints which document the various aspects of the lives of the inhabitants in a particular community.
The collection also contains 8 boxes of miscellaneous prints, which have not been thoroughly examined as to their exact content. Within these boxes, there are mounted prints (both labeled and not) and folders of miscellaneous prints.
The accession 1967-131 has original file cards that serve as a finding aid to the photos. These file cards can be found in volumes 16075-16078. Vol. 16075 contains file cards for photos numbered 1-482 (Garson - Sifton Manitoba); Vol. 16076 for photos numbered 483-928 (Sifton Manitoba to Prince Albert Saskatchewan); Vol. 16077 for photos numbered 929-1600 (various subjects including immigrants and farms for sale); Vol. 16078 for photos numbered 1601-2401 (British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta farms for sale).
To view some of the 3000 prints, these can now be found in the follow permanent volumes 16377-16382. (The prints were once in accession level boxes: 5641, 5641.1, 5642,5643, 5644, 5648, and 5649.1).
Volume 16377 contains item nos. 1-450; Volume 16378 contains items 451-940; Volume 16379 contains items 951-1380; Volume 16380 contains items 1381-1590; Volume 16381 contains items 1591-2115; Volume 16382 contains items 2116 - 2185; 2362-2414.
In Vols. 15892-15893 (formerly old accession box 5643) for example, there is a file containing group photographs of immigrants (and others) travelling by train ca. 1920s-1930s. Additionally, there are photographs of the following subjects:
Swiss Delegation at Winnipeg
Indian Children, Indian School - Brandon, Man. on Canadian Northern Railway
British Boys at Winnipeg
Von Sieberg Party
British Party ex Lapland
Dutch Settlers
Scandinavian Immigrants
Swedish Immigrants
There is also a file showing various locations in Alberta and Saskatchewan and in and near Winnipeg, Manitoba, ca. 1930-1942, including:
Mennonite Church, Winnipeg
View of Grain elevators, Waseca, Sask
Exterior views of CNLSA office in Winnipeg
CPR Immigration Hall, Winnipeg
Stock and stockyards, Winnipeg
Rural Rehabilitation Commission
Staff at Union Station, Winnipeg (EHG London Office)
Employment and Claims Office, Unemployment Insurance Commission, Winnipeg
Views of various people and places at Winnipegosis
Harvesters from Eastern Canada
There is also a file showing various locations in northwestern Ontario, including:
Port Arthur
Rainy River
Photo Booklets: As well, there are approximately 30 report booklets which record various aspects of a particular settlement or farm. There are also reports created by land inspectors and other officials on various matters concerning the land and immigration with accompanying photographs.
The reports are small collections of photographs bound together with pages of text. The titles for these reports are fairly self-explanatory in terms of their contents. For the most part they contain photographs of families and their farms, together with written descriptions detailing the particulars of the individual family and farm, as well as its progress. The dates recorded for the reports are the dates upon which the report was created, not the dates of the individual photographs.
Further details about the reports can be found at lower file level descriptions, and many of these reports have been digitized. Note that the photographic reports are located in volumes 15849-15852 and 15854-15855.
Vol. 15853 contains miscellaneous prints 1926-1935 of immigrants, of immigrants on farms near Chatham, Ontario 1950s, and of various locations in Saskatchewan 1950s. The files are entitled:
CNR - Photographs of immigrant families in Western Canada;
Canada and Dominion Sugar Company pictorial brochure for Dutch Immigrants in Southwestern
CNR - Views of farms, towns, and landscapes in Saskatchewan
Vol. 15854 contains albums of immigrant farms from the late 1920s for Manitoba and Alberta.
Vol. 15855 contains the following files:
View of farming activities in Edmonton area
Views of farms in Western Canada
Views of farms and farming activities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan
Also, in Vol. 15283, there are agricultural scenes from western Canada, including various locations in Saskatchewan and British Columbia from the summer and fall of 1946; Manitoba farm scenes 1918-1921. There are also undated (but likely ca. 1930s-1940s) photographs for reports on immigrant families, photos of immigrants, of northern Ontario farms, of farms in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, of farms in St. Anne de Bellevue, Mont Laurier, Sanmour, and Rochebeaucourt in Abitibi region.
Vols 16284-16286 contain photos of the Abitibi region ca. 1930s and 1950s; of farms in Alberta, 1947; various cities and towns; agricultural activities in Quebec, Ontario, and Western Canada, ca. 1950s; views of buildings, churches, and immigrant homes and farms ca. 1920s; views of industries, and winter scenes.
Vol. 16285 also contains photos of groups of immigrants newly arrived at Winnipeg Union Station, Manitoba, ca. 1920s or 1930s, as well as one photo entitled Indian Children, Indian School - Brandon, Man. on Canadian Northern Railway.
Vols. 16369-16370 contains photos of locations in Western Canada (in alphabetical order from E-S) that document immigrant farms, Community Progress Competitions, ca. 1930s, and interesting structures such as school houses and churches (including the first Ukrainian church in Manitoba, vol. 16370).
Vol. 16385 contains photos of miscellaneous farms in Ontario and the Maritimes, as well as photos of towns and farms in various areas of the Prairie Provinces and British Columbia. These are filed according letters A-V, ca. 1930s-1940s.
Vol. 16386 contains photos of faming activities, industrial activities, railway infrastructure and some streetscapes of miscellaneous locations in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, 1920s-1930s. Some document new immigrants on their farms. They are not filed in alphabetical order as with Volume 16385. There are also a few miscellaneous photos of farms in Ontario and the Maritimes.
Vol. 16388 contains photo reports dating from the earliest days of the CNLSA, 1927- 1932. These reports contain details on Polish, Ukrainian, and German immigrants that have settled on various farming locations in the Prairies and British Columbia. Included in this volume is an index listing all photo reports numbers 1 to 120 that were created between 1927 and 1945.
Vol. 16400 contains photos of locations in Western Canada (in alphabetical order J-N, T and V), includes views of immigrant farms, community progress competitions, buildings, and farm machinery.
