The fonds consists of the immediate and related business and legal venture of the Scovil family in the regards to their general store business. The bulk of the fonds consists of ledgers, daybooks and record books of the Scovil General Store through three successive owners. The related legal documents pertain to wills and testaments, mortgages, quit claims, indentures and land transfers. Of particular interest is volume 41 which includes eight pages of medicinal recipes.
The records start with the proceedings of the first town council in 1838 and are continually being acquired. Many of the early minute books are indexed. In addition there are separate volumes for committee reports between 1842 and 1898, and for bylaws between 1838 and 1907. The minute books and correspondence of the Finance and Accounts Committee are of interest. The story of the Fire Department between 1888 and 1936 is to be found in the records of the Committee on Fire and Light. There are scattered records for the Parks and Property Committees, fairly detailed records for the Board of Works between 1891 and 1936 and for the Board of Health around the same time. The correspondence of the City Clerk is complete from 1898 to 1938 and there are letter books from 1952 on as well as scattered letter books from 1852 to 1896. The records of the City Treasurer comprise an extensive collection of account books as do the records of the City Engineer.
This fonds consists of correspondence, minutes, financial records, photos and newspaper clippings relating to the Chown Hardware Firm. There is only one folder from the 1864-1870 period. The majority of this collection deals with the business in the 1950s, and 60s. This record reflects the growth and operation of a local Kingston business.
