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Canol Pipeline, archival collections

Canadian archives

The list below contains institutions in Canada that have materials relating to the Canol Pipeline. The list is in alphabetical order by institution name. If an online guide to the collection is available, it is linked below. Otherwise the holding institution's main website or searchable catalog is linked. This list may not be comprehensive, so please contact the institutions individually regarding other Canol Pipeline related material. If you are with a repository that holds publicly accessible collections related to the Canol Pipeline that are not reflected in this list, please contact us at uaa_archives@alaska.edu. 

Library and Archives Canada

Northwest Territories Archives

  • Canol Maps - Schleindl collection, N-2012-005: This accession consists of 68 maps and oversize schematic drawings related to the Canol Project. The accession includes air navigation maps of northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories from 1940s, river survey maps of the Mackenzie River (entire length) which include substantial details regarding depth, shoreline, cabins or structures along the river. The collection also includes engineering schematics produced by US Engineers for the US War Department depicting the Camp Canol layout, pipelines across the Mackenzie River, oil tank farms, possible routes for the pipeline, pump station layouts documenting the proposed flow of oil from NWT to Yukon and onto US locations, and detail drawings of specific technologies.
  • Frank Thomas Carter fonds, N-2009-001: The fonds contains 76 photographs, including depictions of the early stages of construction of oil tanks for the Canol Project at Norman Wells.
  • Diary Report of Reconnaissance Trip Camp CANOL to MacMillan Pass, N-2001-012 : This accession consists of 0.2 cm of textual records. Records are comprised of one report entitled "Diary Report of Reconnaissance Trip Camp Canol to MacMillan Pass." It was prepared by J. Gordon Turnbull and Sverdrub and Parcel, Architect and Engineer, Canol Project, 1943.
  • Gordon Eastman fonds, 130: This accession consists of 75 photographs of a trophy hunting expedition, which include photographs of Canol camp sites.
  • Richard Finnie fonds, 229: Fonds includes images of the Canol Project. The also included is a photograph album containing 142 color prints entitled "Canol: The Authors Photographic Post Mortem" which was compiled by Finnie from photos of his 1977 tour of the remains of the Canol project. The text consists of one file containing a copy of a draft of an unpublished manuscript entitled "Canol - The sub-arctic Pipeline and Refinery Project of Bechtel - Price - Callahan for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army 1942-1944."
  • Hamilton, Margaret E., N-1992-247: Eight photographs (black and white copy negatives), depicting the Canol camp and Norman Wells area.
  • R.A. Hemstock collection, N-2013-021: Correspondence and a report from a man who worked on the Canol Project between 1943 and 1945.
  • W. Bruce Hunter fonds, 239: Contains 12 photographs from the 1930s and 1940s that feature Canol camps.
  • Imperial Oil Limited, N-1979-521: This accession consists of documents relating to oil exploration and development in conjunction with the Canol Project. The records relate to the Canol Project and include blank weekly time reports for Imperial Oil Limited, operating instructions for flares, and material cost records.
  • Robert R. Janes fonds, 115: The fonds of an archaeologist, which include a field notebook from his archaeological work at Canol Camp in 1977.
  • John C. Kingston photo collection, N-1992-025: 103 black and white photographs, including some depicting the installation and hauling of equipment to the Canol Project.
  • Lex Miller fonds, 74: Includes images of Canol crews and construction.
  • Northwest Territories. Department of Justice and Public Services fonds, 307: Contains a lecture by photographer and historian Richard Finnie on "The Truth about the Canol Project". Richard Finnie was employed as the northern advisor and historian to the United States Army Engineers constructing the Canol Project from 1940-1942.
  • Northwest Territories. Department of Natural and Cultural Affairs fonds, 300: Contains 45 black and white photograph negatives taken by the Curator of Collections of the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. The photographs were taken in February 1977 and show images from the Canol Project. Included in the photographs are buildings such as chapels, warehouses, repair shops, power plants and hangars.
  • Sam Otto fonds, 636: Includes photographs of Canol Pipeline Construction.
  • Warren Schmitke fonds, 114: This fonds consists of 132 color slides of Camp Canol. Included in the images are winter and summer scenes, views of buildings and equipment, and scenes of the camp being burned.
  • Thompson, Keith, N-1986-003: This accession consists of 10 color slides taken in June 1972 at Canol camp sites. The images show the buildings at the major installation base situated about five kilometers west of the Mackenzie River.
  • Zuckerman, George, N-1979-012: This accession contains photographs taken circa 1946 by George Zuckerman to illustrate the book “The Great Mackenzie,” including abandoned Canol Project sites.

Yukon Archives

  • Fred Birnbaum fonds: The fonds consists of a videocassette copy of films taken by and of Fred Birnbaum during his work on the Alaska Highway and Canol Road. There are shots of army life at the military bases in Watson Lake, MP 308 (NWT), and Whitehorse; construction crews; furlough trips to Alaska and New York City; and scenery along the highway.
  • William Braga fonds: The fonds consists of 181 digital photographs scanned from slides and prints loaned to the Yukon Archives by William Braga, including work camps on the Canol Road.
  • Canol pipeline, northern topographical blueprints: This series consists of 5 blueprint maps of Canol #1 Pipeline and 1 blueprint map of topographical features of territory form Norman Wells to Fairbanks, Alaska.
  • Finnie family fonds: Richard Finnie's photographs document the construction of the Canol pipeline, 1942-1944, including the June 1942 aerial reconnaissance flight from Norman Wells, NWT to Whitehorse, Yukon, storage tanks and the discovery well at Norman Wells, Taylor & Drury Sheldon Lake Trading Post, views of U.S. Army troops en route to Whitehorse, contract workers in Carcross, the Whitehorse airport, Snag and Aishihik airfields, telephone linemen at work, the Canol refinery in Whitehorse and Bechtel - Price - Callahan construction camps. There is also correspondence with Lyman Woodman regarding his 1977 published article about the Canol Pipeline. The carbon copy of Finnie's diary describes his work on the Canol Project and the Alaska Highway from May 26, 1942 to May 24, 1946.
  • Gertrude (Seidel) Gillis fonds: The fonds consists of 123 photographs, copied from an album, documenting Gertrude (Seidel) Gillis' experiences in the Yukon while working in Whitehorse during the construction of the CANOL (Canadian American Norman Oil Line) project.
  • Colonel C. Hannington fonds: Photographs of the Canol show the road itself, the surrounding landscape and various ice formations in winter. Specific sites include the Dodo Valley above Canyon Ice-Form, and aerial surveys of the Canol Pipeline.
  • Edward Hendrickson fonds: The fonds consists of copies of Alaska Highway registration cards, a copy of a letter of employment offer to work on the Alaska Highway, and photographs of Hendrickson's time working on the Canol Road.
  • Ross Houghtaling fonds: The fonds consists of photographs taken by Rex Hougtaling and John Peck showing scenes of army life on the American base, and scenes of the Mackenzie River, Norman Wells, Canol Road, the Imperial Oil plant.
  • Kamloops Museum and Archives collection: This collection consists of photographs predominantly taken during the Northwest Service Command’s construction and operation of the Alaska Highway and Canol pipeline. Whitehorse scenes include views of downtown, shipyards, Yukon River, and the Canol refinery. Also included are views of Carcross, Yukon scenery, Dawson Creek, Fairbanks and other miscellaneous scenes.
  • Mary H. Mohr fonds: The fonds consists of copy negatives and prints of Norman Wells, NWT and the Canol Pipeline.
  • Anton Money fonds: The fonds consists of Anton Money's report of the 1943 Canol Pipeline survey trip, with accompanying photographs, as well as a variety of other photographs taken by Money of the north. The report was compiled from Money's diary for J. Gordon Turnbull and Sverdrup and Parcel, Architect Engineer, Canol Project. Fifty-two photographs accompany the report, while another 38 photographs are separate from the report but illustrate the survey project.
  • Hope Morritt fonds: Research material containing articles about the Canol pipeline.
  • Paul Nieman fonds: Fonds consists of Paul Nieman’s memoirs including his time in the Yukon and surveying the Canol Road.
  • Don Rawlins collection: The collection consists of records created during Rawlins work on the Canol Project, including photographs and two blueprint plans of the Canol Project: Canol #3 line Swan Lake Booster Pump Station and Watson Lake Gasoline Pump House.
  • Clare Stark collection: The collection consists of papers written by Stark for her Geography 309 class taught by Professor Barr at Yukon College. One of the papers is "The Canol Pipeline: Origins and Construction."
  • United States Armed Forces Northwest Service Command collection: The fonds consists of records of the United States Army, Northwest Service Command and 6th Service Command dealing with the Canol Project and the Alaska Highway Project activity in the Yukon. Included are reports, general orders, histories, maps and charts, minutes of meetings and conferences, and demobilization plans. These records also contain international agreements between Canada and the United States.
  • Paul Vergon collection: The collection consists of original photographs of Whitehorse, Yukon and the surrounding area, and equipment and construction of the Canol Pipeline Project, around 1943.
  • William Clay Wideman collection: The collection consists of b&w copy negatives selected from an album of photographs accumulated by William Clay Wideman while he was in Whitehorse in 1943-1944, including photographs of construction of the Canol Refinery.

This guide was created with funding provided by the Elizabeth Tower Endowment for Canadian Studies.