Brampton Library offers a range of local history and genealogy information, including a wealth of archived materials, online databases, and Ontario Genealogical Society materials, available at our Four Corners branch.

Local History

The purpose of the local history collection is to discover and preserve the historical and cultural development of the City of Brampton and the former townships of Chinguacousy and Toronto Gore. Available resources include books, pamphlets, newspapers, city directories, historic atlases, maps, voters' lists, annual reports of local industries, school yearbooks, and specialized and general reports of the Region of Peel and the City of Brampton. The collection is indexed in an in-house catalogue and can be used in the Library during regular operating hours. It is located on the second floor of the Four Corners Branch. Two (2) microfilm machines and one (1) microfiche viewer are available for customer use. Copies can be made from microfilms at a cost of twenty cents ($0.20) each.

Please direct any inquiries about our local history collection to library staff at pastpresent@bramlib.on.ca.

Local History Collection Use Guidelines

  • As per the Library use guidelines - Code of conduct and internet use (PDF), you are allowed to bring bottled water in a covered container into the local history collection area; however, eating and/or drinking are not permitted.
  • A maximum of three (3) items will be supplied at one time. You will need staff assistance to access materials in the collection, and your library card or photo ID will be required.
  • Consult with staff regarding appropriate handling of materials in the local history collection. Improper handling can cause stress or damage to a material's composition.
  • As a general rule, please ensure your hands are clean and dry prior to handling materials. It is recommended that you use nitrile gloves when handling photographs, which can be provided by staff.
  • Consult with a staff member prior to photographing and/or photocopying documents. Disable flash functionality on your digital camera prior to taking photographs.
  • No marks of any kind are to be made on any material. Please use pencils to take notes. Pens, highlighters, and sticky notes are not permitted around materials in the local history collection.
  • Do not remove any materials from the local history collection area. Please see staff to return items, as they will need to be kept in their original order. Folders should be returned to boxes in their original sequence and items should remain in folders in their original sequence.

Please consult a staff member if you have any questions or concerns.

Learn about Brampton's history from the people who lived and worked here. Through Our Eyes  is a book of stories and a series of recorded interviews  written by and recorded with local seniors. 

William Perkins Bull Historical Series

Local to Peel Region, William Perkins Bull was a lawyer, financier, philanthropist, and historian. In the early 1930s, Bull set out to write a brief family history which evolved into a collection of thirteen publications documenting the details of pioneer life in Peel County. Physical copies of the Perkins Bull collection  can be viewed in-person at Four Corners (visit the Local History collection on the second floor), and much of the collection is accessible digitally  through our website. 

Brampton Library is a repository for the Ontario Genealogical Society's Halton-Peel Branch materials. The genealogy collection is housed with the local history collection at the Four Corners branch. Accessible during regular operating hours, this collection includes family histories, census records, church records and church history, cemetery transcriptions, marriage registers, loyalist history, Ontario birth, marriage, and death indexes, Perkins Bull collections , passenger lists, genealogy newsletters, and the International Genealogical Index (IGI) (1988 edition, on microfiche).

Researching your own family history? Join us for our monthly Genealogy Meet-Ups presented in partnership with Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS), and get expert advice to help you in your personal search! Visit our online calendar  for upcoming dates.

Celebrating Brampton's Diversity is a special project completed by Brampton Library. Brampton is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Canada, and in order to recognize and celebrate this diversity, the library invited prominent members of the community to participate in a series of interviews.

Go for the full playlist (Youtube )

Sample video clips:

History & Genealogy databases and resources. 

The Brampton Guardian is the city's main newspaper for community information. News articles have been indexed from its inception in 1964 and can be viewed at the library's Four Corners branch.

The Brampton Conservator/Daily Times ceased publication in 1989. Microfilm records are available from 1867–1989. They are only indexed (for births, marriages, and deaths only) from 1867-1929. This information can also be viewed at the library's Four Corners Branch.

The Peel Newspaper Index includes entries for the Brampton Guardian from 1979 to the present (news articles, as well as births, marriages & deaths) can be accessed on the Brampton Newspaper Index .

Region of Peel Archives

9 Wellington St. E
Brampton, ON L6W 1Y1
View in Google Maps
905-791-4055
Fax: 905-451-4931

Visit the Region of Peel Archives 

Brampton Ontario Family Search Centre

10062 Bramalea Rd (Bramalea Rd & Bovaird Dr)
Brampton, ON
(905) 799-3214  

Visit the Brampton Ontario Family Search Centre 

Sikh National Archives of Canada

16 Regan Road. Unit 37
Brampton, ON L7A 1C2
905-783-5939
416-907-3665

Visit the Sikh National Archives of Canada