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Dinner, Tour and Presentation: An Introduction to the Philadelphia Archives
City Archives
The City Archives supports the City’s administration by actively identifying and preserving municipal records designated for permanent value. The City Archives as an institution dates back to 1704, with the recording of the first City Council meeting minutes. The City of Philadelphia voters adopted the Home Rule Charter establishing the City Archives on April 17, 1951. The specific duties of the City archives are to:
1. Preserve all city records not in current use and of historical, administrative, legal research, cultural, or other important value;
2. Receive such records from any department, board, commission, or other governmental agency of the City;
3. Collect, classify, preserve, and make acceptable for reference all records which may come into its possession;
4. Consult with city governmental departments to ensure current preservation and retention standards.
The wealth of material preserved in the City Archives includes original architectural plans from the 1870s for City Hall, which took 30 years to complete; 18th-Century City records with signatures of some of the nation’s founders (Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin); and Civil War-era scholar and civil-rights activist Octavius V. Catto’s death certificate. The earliest original documents are the William Penn City Charter (1701) and the Common Council Minutes of the first legislative meeting (the precursor to City Council) in 1704, while the newest notable item is the 2016 design drawings for the Octavius V. Catto memorial from the Philadelphia Art Commission.
The Archives also is a valuable repository for family-history researchers and professional genealogists (births, marriages, deaths, naturalizations, Guardians of the Poor, prison, records, and deeds); property researchers (deeds, title registration sheets, ward atlases and plot maps, building permits, and court records), academics and the general public.
Join us as James Leonard, Commissioner of Records for the City of Philadelphia, leads our talk on and tour of The Archives.