The J. Clark Keith papers contain a record of activities pursued by one of Windsor’s most eminent engineers during his career with the Essex Border Utilities Commission (1920-1935) and the subsequent Windsor Utilities Commission (1935-1957), largely in the form of personal correspondence and scrapbooks. Also included are numerous reports, subject files, a small number of engineering specifications, blueprints, contracts, and excerpts from Keith’s book The Windsor Utilities Commission and Its Antecedent Commissions, covering nearly seventy years of urban history in the Border Cities. The fonds provides detailed insight into projects such as the Wyandotte Street extension and construction of a filtration plant at Ford City, as well as broader issues of city planning and legislation. Hospitals and parks are also dealt with, thanks to the EBUC’s broad mandate. Collectively, the records provide an excellent survey of the diverse responsibilities shouldered by the utilities commission in Windsor’s development, and the central role J. Clark Keith played at its helm.

The fonds is arranged into seven sub-series: Sub-series A contains subject files; Sub-series B contains annual reports; Sub-series C contains other reports; Sub-series D contains financial reports; Sub-series E contains contracts; Sub-series F contains a diary; and Sub-series G contains scrapbooks.