Ellis Little Local History Room
The Waterloo Public Library is committed to collecting and preserving the local history of the City of Waterloo. In our local history room you have access to:
- Books
- Business and Clipping Files
- Correspondence
- Genealogy and Census materials
- Government records
- Historical Atlases
- Journals
- Maps and Plans
- Memorabilia
- Newspapers
- Photographs (on Our Ontario)
- Postcards
- Waterloo Historical Society annual volumes
- Special Collections
- Waterloo 150 project
We have a number of special collections including:
- The Ellis Little Papers
- The Globe Furniture Company
- Sunshine Waterloo
- Waterloo Board of Trade Minute Books
- David Bean Collection
We offer a number of genealogical and special local history services.
The Ellis Little Local History Room is available to researchers during regular Library hours. Please see Locations and Hours.
The room is located behind the Information Desk (Adult Department) in the Main Library.
Historical Walking Tours of Waterloo
The Waterloo Public Library is pleased to present two walking tours of our neighbourhoods, one for Uptown Waterloo and the other for the Mary-Allen neighbourhood.
You can download the tours to your portable audio or video player and head outdoors for a walk, or take an audio, video or virtual tour on your computer without leaving home!
Or, come by the Main Library and borrow one of our MP3 players with the tours pre-loaded!
Each tour is approximately one hour in length, and focuses on noteworthy homes and businesses in the Uptown Waterloo and Mary Allen neighbourhoods of Waterloo.
Click here for more information.
Local History Resources for Sale
Researching An Older Home?
The City of Waterloo’s Heritage Resources Department has created a research guide for those trying to trace the history of their home. The brochure, available at the Waterloo Public Library’s Ellis Little Local History Room for $1.00 contains:
- Tips on getting started
- Visual clues
- Local resources
- A guide to archival resources
- City of Waterloo Designated Landmarks
This publication, created by L.A.C.A.C., is available at the Waterloo Public Library’s Ellis Little Local History Room for $6.00. L.A.C.A.C. will donate $1.00 of the purchase price from each book to the Library. This booklet contains photos of a number of Waterloo landmarks with the history of each.
For more details, contact Janet Seally, Manager, Information Services & Local History, at 519-886-1310 ext. 126 or email.
