From the archives: The Great Depression

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From the archives: The Great Depression

9/14/2021 10:00 AM

Learn more about the city’s history from the Vaughan Archives

From a farmland community to a bustling city centre and everything in between – Vaughan’s transformation is a story worth telling. As part of a monthly series, the City of Vaughan will be releasing historical content from the Vaughan Archives, Office of the City Clerk. Citizens are encouraged to scroll through memory lane, learn about the city’s past and explore the places, people and events that were pivotal to the development of the city of Vaughan that we know today.

The Great Depression was one of the most significant events of the 20th century, both in Vaughan and across the world. People lost savings, jobs and property following the economic turbulence of 1929 and the early 1930s. This situation forced many labourers, who already barely made ends meet due to poor wages, into an exceedingly precarious state.

As an agriculture-based economy, with many of the community’s necessities produced on farms, Vaughan was not as hard hit as major urban centres. However, the area still felt the impact of the Great Depression as a number of residents travelled to Toronto for work. In addition to employment provided by farms, several related service industries were relatively unscathed, such as feed mills, sawmills, shipping companies, farm-implement manufacturers and suppliers.

During the Depression, the town participated in government relief programs such as the Unemployment Relief Act of 1931, which provided $4 million for relief work and $500,000 for relief efforts. While relief work, such as the construction of Highway 7, a large-scale make-work project, provided employment and wages for Vaughan residents, direct relief allowed for the purchase of food, clothing and heating supplies – things some residents urgently needed.

These programs ended in May 1932, leading to an increased need for relief for the unemployed. To alleviate this issue, members of the Council donated 10 per cent of their salaries to the relief fund and encouraged other Township employees to do the same. Council also launched the “Give a Man a Job” campaign in conjunction with the Liberal newspaper, which aimed to employ local labourers.

ABOUT VAUGHAN ARCHIVES

Established in 1988, the City of Vaughan Archives is home to more than 600 collections, consisting of both City records and cultural records about Vaughan from 1860 to present day. Records include, but are not limited to, the following:

City business records with long-term legal and administrative value, such as Council meeting minutes, by-laws, assessment rolls, financial records, reports and official correspondence
church, community and school records
census records
historical photographs
land records
historical maps, plans and aerial photographs
newspapers
personal papers of past residents and founding families, such as diaries, family histories, journals and letters
records of local organizations both past and present

VIEW VAUGHAN’S ARCHIVES ONLINE!

As part of the City's COVID-19 response, Vaughan City Hall remains closed to the public – but the City’s Archival Collection is on digital display for all to explore! The below galleries are now available in the City’s online gallery on Flickr:

Featured Artists of Vaughan
Historical Families of Vaughan
Historical Figures: Lord Beaverbrook
Historical Photography
Recollections of Rural Vaughan
The Mary Wood Collection
The Way We Were: Representations of Vaughan’s Past
Vaughan Working Environments
Vaughan Through the Ages: Medicine
Vaughan Through the Ages: Music
Vaughan Through the Ages: Sports and Recreation

A personal Flickr account is not required to access the City’s online gallery, which contains only a small selection of the full archives collection. If you are looking for a certain image, original file, primary source record or more, contact the Vaughan Archives by calling 905-832-2281 or emailing archives@vaughan.ca.

By managing and preserving both City and community records, the Archives and Records Management Services team ensures that Vaughan’s rich and varied history will continue to be available for future generations. Learn more at vaughan.ca/archives.

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