Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Simpson Family fonds
General material designation
- Multiple media
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on the content of the collection and on the information supplied by the donor/creator.
Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
2.5m textual materials
2,642 photographs
28 artifacts
1 drawing
23 audio cassettes
1 VHS cassette
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Stanley Merriam Simpson (b.10 August 1886, d. 20 March 1959), also referred to as Stanley M. Simpson, or S.M. Simpson, was born in Chatsworth, ON. He arrived in Kelowna in 1913 at the age of 27. Here, he plied a carpentry trade and eventually established a screen door manufacturing company (S.M. Simpson Sash & Door, later S.M.S. Ltd., established 1916). Throughout his career, he established a box factory, a veneer plant, and a sawmill, all centred in the Kelowna, BC area. He also owned mill operations in Peachland, Lumby, and Malakwa, and operated a tree farm on the west side of Okanagan Lake.
In 1916, he married Bertha Birch, (b. 1885, d. 17 April 1917). A son, Horace Birch Simpson (b. 17 March 1917, d. 20 September 1994) was born.
On 25 November, 1944, following a series destructive mill fires, S.M. Simpson was approached by the city of Kelowna and asked to give the City of Kelowna an option to purchase the parcel of land damaged in the fire on Kelowna’s waterfront on Okanagan Lake. S.M. Simpson agreed, but only under particular terms of sale governing the exclusive civic or community use of the land, and conditions of resale, which precluded any subsequent commercial uses of the land. A total of nearly eight acres was purchased by the City for $55,000. The City acknowledged that the purchase price was considerably less than it would have been if it were purchased for the purpose of subdivision and commercial use. This agreement would come to be known as “The Simpson Covenant” and/or “The Simpson Covenants,” and/or “The Kelowna Sawmill Covenants.”
Name of creator
Biographical history
Name of creator
Biographical history
Sharron J. Simpson was born and grew up in Kelowna. After attending university, Sharron Simpson resided in Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto before returning to Kelowna in 1984. Her occupations have included social worker, stockbroker, politician, and teacher.
Sharron J. Simpson has been actively engaged in advocacy for the preservation of family and community heritage and led the successful 2007 court challenge of the City of Kelowna’s proposed dissolution of the Simpson Covenant which was put in place by her grandfather, Stanley Merriam Simpson.
Custodial history
Custody of materials transferred from SMS Ltd. offices and succeeding agencies to Sharron J. Simpson, who donated these aggregations as well as her own materials to UBC Okanagan Library in 2014.
Scope and content
The fonds consists of two separate streams of documentation. The first consists of documents, photographs, and artifacts pertaining to the operations of a succession of sawmills and wood manufacturing plants founded by Stanley Merriam Simpson) and assumed by his son, Horace B. Simpson in the Okanagan area.
The second stream consists of the materials generated by Sharron J. Simpson, a Kelowna author, publisher, and activist. Sharron J. Simpson's records within this aggregation are primarily in relation to legal proceedings against the City of Kelowna in pursuit of the maintenance of the Simpson Covenant, which limits use of waterfront land on a former mill site sold by S.M. Simpson to the City under restrictive terms of sale in 1946. In the 2000s, the City sought to dissolve the Covenant; Sharron J. Simpson founded a society to challenge this initiative.
In total fonds consists of approximately 2,642 photographs, in various forms, including some duplicates. Records provide documentation of legal proceedings, finances, substantial mill operations, safety initiatives, administration, civic engagement, publicity, and labour relations relating to mill business, general family research, and writing samples. Artifacts include exemplars of production and souvenir materials.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Some subseries are restricted to patrons who have signed a research agreement.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Descriptions of sous fonds are available.
Uploaded finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Accompanying material
Simpson, S.J. (2003). Boards, Boxes, and Bins. Kelowna BC: Manhattan Beach Publications.
Available at UBCO OSC: HD9764.C34 S58 2003
http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=3109885
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Simpson, Sharron J. (Subject)
- Simpson, H.B. (Horace Birch) (Subject)
- Simpson, S.M. (Stanley Merriam) (Subject)
- International Woodworkers of America (Subject)
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Rules or conventions
Rules for Archival Description (CCA)
Status
Final
Level of detail
Full
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Created July 29, 2015 by Paige Hohmann
Revised May 6, 2016 by Lara Maestro
Revised February 18, 2020 and December 8, 2020 by Paige Hohmann
Language of description
Script of description
Sources
Cutting, K. and Merriam, R.D. (2015). Merriam Family Tree. Retrieved http://www.merriamfamilytree.org 2015/07/29
Simpson, S.J. (2003) Boards, Boxes and Bins. Kelowna, BC: Manhattan Beach Publishing.