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.
Fonds consists of two sous-fonds, that of Margaret Elizabeth Phipps-Walker and that of Edward Phipps-Walker. The Edward Phipps-Walker sous-fonds consists of textual material, including a "Guest Register" for a motel in Gananoque, Ontario; photographs; audio tapes. They detail the man's life from his school days in England to his death at the age of 71 in Kingston. A very important part of these records document his business activities. Most of these activities were closely related to his role as Habour Master for the Port of Kingston. The Margaret Elizabeth sous-fonds consists of textual material and photographs detailing a good deal of her public career in Kingston, with a strong focus on her work with the Association of Women Electors. There is also a good deal of personal material such as letters and diaries.
