About Mennonite Archives of Ontario

Beginning Monday, September 28, the archives is open between 10am - 3pm, Monday to Wednesday, by appointment only

Closed on weekends and statutory holidays, and between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day.

Please do not arrive without an appointment.

Location. Conrad Grebel University College is located north of the intersection of Westmount Road N. and University Ave. W. in Waterloo, Ontario. See the map to Conrad Grebel University College. The archives is located in the academic building (next to the parking lot) on the third floor (within the Milton Good Library).

Public transportation. Grand River Transit runs bus services throughout Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo, in addition to a light rail transit route, the "ION," that connects the city centres of Kitchener and Waterloo. To plan your route in the GRT Trip Planner, type in your location and enter "Conrad Grebel University College" as your destination.

Bus stops within a 10-minute walk of Conrad Grebel are 2516 (Ring Road/U.W. Environment 3) and 2678 (Westmount/University). The University of Waterloo ION Station is a 15-minute walk across the University of Waterloo campus. Stop numbers are 6120 (direction Conestoga Station, Waterloo) and 6004 (direction Fairway Station, Kitchener). Text your stop number to 57555 to receive upcoming departure times. 

Parking fees apply on Monday to Friday from 7:30 am until 7:30 pm. Parking can be purchased from the machine in the lot at any time or from the main office between 8 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Thursday and 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Friday. Parking is $3/hour up to $9/day. Machine requires exact change in coins.

The archives is open to anyone over the age of 18 with a legitimate research interest. This could include research for personal, family, scholarly or artistic reasons, or on behalf of a congregation or institution.

The archives is responsible to balance the researcher's need for access with the need for confidentiality of persons and institutions whose activities are reflected in the records. Consequently, the use of some materials in the archives is subject to restrictions. If restrictions exist, they are usually noted in the archival descriptions; however, the archivist will have the most complete information.

Copying archival records can be done with permission from archives staff. If the materials you are researching can be photocopied, come prepared to pay by cash or WATCard. A portable drive or digital camera could also be used to scan or copy some materials. A microform scanner is available on site; please bring a USB to save documents.

Except for those services described below, archival services are provided free of charge as a public service.

Payments are by cash or cheque made out to "Conrad Grebel University College." If you need items shipped to you, payment must be made in advance. Please confirm the availability of the item and the shipping charges by contacting the archivist before you send payment. The archives may refuse requests for copies for reasons of copyright, preservation issues, or limitations of time.

Due to COVID-19 measures, the library is offering limited on-site services. Please check our fall term services page before arriving.

The archives is located within Conrad Grebel University College's library, the Milton Good Library. The library includes a nearly comprehensive collection of materials published and about about Mennonites and related groups, including rare Anabaptist books. It is an excellent resource for archival researchers and the largest library of Mennonite materials in Canada. The library shares a catalogue with a consortium of Ontario universities. Patrons may borrow resources using a library card from the University of Waterloo or a university within the OMNI library consortium. Residents of Ontario may also obtain a library card.

Most of our collections are not accessible over the Internet. You can still explore our holdings through this website. We may able to reproduce sound recordings, photocopy print materials, or send digital copies of photographs to satisfy remote requests. See the information above on fee-based services and copying of archival records, and contact the archivist if you have additional questions. Most of our photographs are accessible in the Mennonite Archival Information Database; digital copies can be purchased on the site for a fee. Our genealogy guide includes links to web-based materials of use to Mennonite genealogists.

Due to limited staff time, the Mennonite Archives of Ontario cannot carry out detailed research on behalf of patrons. We will attempt to answer a question if it can be done in about 15 minutes. Otherwise we ask you to make a personal visit for research.

The Bowman Endowment for Archives first contributor was Joseph S. Stauffer, an engineer, businessman and philanthropist with roots in the village of Blair, near Cambridge.

Stauffer began contributing to Conrad Grebel University College when the College was “still a dream” in the early 1960s. It was his wish that some of his contributions form an endowment to acquire and protect archival materials. He proposed the name “Bowman” in 1974 to honor the Mennonite family name of his grandmother Nancy (Bowman) Stauffer.

The endowment stands at $158,000, with a goal of $500,000. The College uses it to fund the acquisition, preservation and community engagement activities of the Mennonite Archives of Ontario. For more information and to contribute, please visit the College's endowments page.

Pictured here is the Joseph O. and Mary (Baer) Baumann house, built in 1834.

Our Missions and Policies (PDF) are available here as a pdf document.