The Chestico Museum Archives has been growing over the years. A large collection of records, maps, photographs and family histories has been recently catalogued. Histories of many of Port Hood’s heritage houses and buildings have been written up to help researchers dig into their Port Hood “roots”. We have an extensive amount of genealogical material on Port Hood families, including a number of published books which can help the budding genealogist get started. The Smiths of Cape Breton by Perley Watts Smith (1967), which was reprinted by the Chestico Museum & Historical Society, has always been in demand as has been Fair is the Place by John Colin and Mildred MacDonald (1985) which profiles many of the numerous MacDonald families in the area.
At present we are making plans to establish an Inverness County Archives which will serve the entire county. Because Port Hood is the Shire Town or County seat (and the location of the County Court House and its municipal offices), we have accumulated a large collection of documents dealing with the County as a whole. The records of provincial surveyors A.D. MacLellan of Belle Côte and his son John A. (Jack) MacLellan, the large legal collection of Port Hood lawyer Daniel MacLennan and wealthy merchant Peter Smyth are important parts of our archives. These records, because of their wider scope, will create a firm foundation for the development of a county archives.
Recently, a great deal of effort has gone into rehousing our archival collection as we work on implementing proper achival storage practices. The gallery below gives a brief overview of what has been accomplished.
