Sudbury history buffs celebrate vital books saved from destruction

Morning North5:58History of Sudbury properties saved by Volunteer group

A group of volunteers has managed to save some registry books detailing the history of properties all over Sudbury. Tracey Sanders is the Chair of the Sudbury District Archives Group. She told us about the importance of these documents. A group of historians in Sudbury is celebrating the preservation of historic land registry documents for the city.

The documents, known as the Land Abstract Index Registers, are the key to finding other documents related to properties in Sudbury, said the chair of the Sudbury District Archives Interest Group.

Tracey Sanders noted the registers date from the 1960s back to the late-1800s. They were set to be destroyed before the group started work to save them.

“The land abstract books are, in a nutshell, the key to any other document that you want to research at the land registry office,” she said.

“Without these books, you can't find anything, information-wise.”

The books will help people research the history of properties in the city including information on who owned a property over the years and what it sold for when it changed hands.

The books weigh up to 15 pounds each.

“Picture a great big ledger,” Sanders said.

“If you open it up, it would be about two feet wide, and about a foot and a half high.”

Volunteers spent years working to save the records, she added.

The group is holding an event tonight at the Bell Mansion where people can see the registers. Then they will be stored at the city archives in Falconbridge.