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Probate/estate files.

This series consists of wildfire mapping records including fire atlas maps and fire reports from the Prince Rupert Forest District. The records date from 1921-1980. Collectively these records provide a comprehensive image of the amount and extent of forest fires in the area.

The Prince Rupert Forest District was divided into smaller Ranger Districts. These Ranger Districts changed over the years, but included: Burns Lake, Hazleton, Terrace, Prince Rupert, Kitwanga, Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), Ocean Falls, Francois Lake, Smithers, Telkwa, Houston, Pendleton Bay, Kitimat, Lower Post, Topley, Bella Coola, Southbank, Telegraph Creek and Atlin.

Annual fire reports are oversized handwritten tables that provide detailed information on individual fires for the years 1921-1967. The tables list: name of the fire; name of officer in charge; date; district fire number; fire origin; cost of fighting and source of funds; area burned; total area of damage done; amount of merchantable and unmerchantable timber burned; amount of range land burned; amount of property or other damage caused; and the cause of the fire. Possible causes include lightening, recreational activities, railroad clearing, smokers, brush or range burning, construction, industrial activities, incendiaries, miscellaneous known causes and unknown causes. The pages are arranged by year, with one page used per Ranger District. Each year includes a summary sheet with the totals for all Ranger Districts.

Fire atlas maps and overlays show the location and type of fires, as well as the extent of some burned areas. The majority of the maps are forest cover maps which have been annotated or had overlays added with this additional information. Many of the maps have been cut to fit in the bound volume they were originally stored in. This can make it difficult to determine the precise year the maps were created and annotated.

The series also includes one scrapbook of newspaper clippings related to forest fires, fire protection and firefighting for the years 1988-1991. This item was created by the successor of the Prince Rupert Forest District, the Prince Rupert Forest Region.

Ministries responsible for the creation of this series, and their dates of the responsibility, are:
Dept. of Lands (1908-1945)
Dept. of Lands and Forests (1945-1962)
Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources (1962-1975)
Dept. of Forests 1975-1976
Ministry of Forests 1976-1986
Ministry of Forests and Lands 1986-1988
Ministry of Forests 1988-2005

The series consists of transcripts of court proceedings, cross-examinations, examination of discovery, exhibit indices, closing statements, briefs, and reasons for judgement of Delgamuukw v. The Queen. The case was heard in the Smithers Supreme Court between 1987 and 1989 (case file 0843). Following the hearings in Smithers, the case reached the BC Court of Appeal and eventually made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada where a landmark ruling was finally issued in 1997.

The transcripts of the proceedings at trial, which consist of 369 spiral-bound volumes, provide a wealth of information on First Nations genealogies, traditional resource knowledge, and language, as well as details of the extent of traditional territories. The series consists of more than 23,000 pages of trial transcript and includes the testimonies of more than 60 witnesses. The series also includes the reasons for judgment. Gitxsan hereditary chief Delgamuukw (Albert Tait), who filed the Statement of Claim, passed away shortly before the trial opened in 1987 and was succeeded by Kenneth Muldoe who was in turn succeeded by his brother, artist Earl Muldon. The claim covered 133 traditional territories, which amounted to 58,000 square kilometers of northwestern British Columbia. Peter R Grant served as lead counsel for the Gitxan and Wet-suwet'en chiefs, and D.M.M. Goldie served as lead counsel for the Province.

The files are arranged as they arrived from the Smithers court registry. Boxes 1 to 13 contain the proceedings at trial. Boxes 16 and 17 include lists of exhibits which provide information on relevant archival collections held in repositories across the province.

Reasons for judgement of the Honourable Chief Justice Allan McEachern in the case of Delgamuukw, also known as Ken Muldoe, suing on his own behalf and on behalf of all members of the House of Delgamuukw and others vs. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the province of British Columbia and the Attorney General of British Columbia. Case no. 843/1984 (Smithers registry), heard at Vancouver, B.C., July 6-7, 1989.

The series consists of divorce case files created by the Smithers Supreme Court registry between 1929 and 1983. The series does not include records from 1949 to 1967 and the whereabouts of those records are unknown. The majority of case files include divorce orders. Typical divorce case files can include petitions, affidavits, court orders, and relate documents. The records dating from 1968 to 1983 generally contain court orders, correspondence, and the registration of divorce form.

Records dating from 1968 to 1983 are arranged by the number assigned by the Central Registry for Divorce Proceedings.

Probate cause books (indexed), 1921-1956, 1957-1970, 1970-1977 and photocopied loose probate index sheets for 1978-1982.

This series consists of records related to land use, management and alienation in the Coast Range 5, Coast Range 4, Cassiar, and Cariboo Land Districts. The records date from 1877-1979. The records were created by various government officials stationed in the following locations: Cassiar, Hazleton, Omineca, Skeena, and Smithers.

Records include certificates of purchase, agreements of sale, certificates of pre-emption, certificates of improvement, township registers, land registers, lot registers, plan registers, indexes, a register of payments related to Skeena River bank protection in Hazleton, and a register of timber licence applications for the Omineca District dated 1907. There are town lot register and townsite registers for the following towns: Burns Lake, Endako, Engen, Fort Fraser, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake, Hazleton, Houston, Smithers, Telkwa, Topley, and Vanderhoof.

There are two survey systems used in the land registers: the district lot system and the township section system. Township registers are arranged by township, section and quarter section (northwest, southeast, etc.). Country land or lot registers are arranged by lot, group and district. Registers may also be arranged by plan number. The registers record the alienation of land from the Crown by purchase, pre-emption, lease, mineral claims, timber use, etc. Information may include the name of the purchaser, dates and numbers of certificates issued (including Crown Grants), dates and amounts of payments, and reference numbers to correspondence files and field books. Some have related maps and correspondence tucked inside the volumes.

Some of the register volumes are duplicates created as a reference copy for the Hazleton land office. These are indicated in the file list as "duplicate for Hazleton office" when there was such a notation on the inside cover of the volume or "[Hazleton office duplicate?]" when the volume succeeds one with such a notation. The originals and duplicates have the same basic information, but notations added to the volumes at later dates will differ. Entries in the original volumes were added as the land was alienated, so each volume contains various lots or townships of land. The Hazleton duplicates were created with all lots or townships in sequential order, whether or not they were alienated. Thus, a Hazleton volume 1 will contain lots 1 to 605, and volume 2 will continue with lot 606, etc. All registers contain indexes.

The series also includes subject files and correspondence files with settlers discussing the pre-emption, lease and purchase of specific parcels of land, and the CN railway, with the Smithers Government Agent from 1920-1959.

This series contains operational records concerned with the North Line and North-west Line timber study reports: File 1, Smithers Veneer Plant Study; File 2, Port Simpson Sawmill Proposal; File 3, Terrace-Hazelton Forest Resources Study.

Letters probate (Form A). There are two overlapping volumes; 1944-1966 and 1961-1974.

The series consists of original civil orders and reasons for judgement created in the Smithers Supreme Court registry between 1969 and 1974. One additional record from 1958 was added in 2009. Civil orders are the formal expression of the ruling of the court and reasons for judgement provide the court's rationale.

The 1969-1974 records are arranged by volume and folio number as assigned by the court registry. Within this series, there are divorce orders interfiled with other Supreme Court orders. The records were scheduled for full retention under Court Services ORCS (schedule 100152) 51400-25.

A sample of adult community case files. These are case files opened by a probation officer for adult offenders who are completing their sentences or dispositions in the community. The file documents diversion, parole and probation. (13 files).

A sample of youth community case files. These are case files opened by a probation officer (youth worker) for young offenders (between the ages of 12 and 17 years) who are completing their dispositions in the community. The file documents the supervision of a sentenced young offender on terminal temporary absence, probation or diversion. (15 files).

Plaint and procedure books (some indexed) from Hazelton (1906-1918) and Smithers 1919-1970).

Firm declaration book (#1-317), 1911-1966 with the wording of the Certificate of Limited Partnership included at the back of the volume; firm index book, 1911-1966; individual index book, 1932; 1944-1966.

Cause books. Volumes from 1941-1965 are indexed.

Bills of sale and chattel mortgages.

This series consists of three record books from the Smithers Police Court, from 1926-1956. Many charges related to offences allegedly committed by Indigenous people under the Game Act for hunting, fishing and trapping.

The first volume is an offence book, presumed to be from the Smithers area. Only the first 8 pages are used. They cover September 1926 to December 1928. Recorded information includes the complaint, action and result.

The second volume is Provincial Police Court Record Book from November 1926 to December 1956. The years 1926-1929 cover the Fort Fraser and Fort St. James areas. The book then continues in Smithers for the years 1940-1956. Recorded information includes date, name, charge, information on charges, fines and remarks.

The third volume is a criminal record book showing date, name of BC Police informant, accused, charge, plea and fine levied. It is mostly in the hand of Harvey Davies (Stipendiary Magistrate), October 1947 - December 1950.

Conditional sales agreements.

Judge's notebooks: Volume 1: Smithers civil and criminal cases in both Supreme and County courts, April 1931 - December 1946; Volume 2: Burns Lake and Smithers civil and criminal cases in both Supreme and County Courts, September 1936 - June 1955.

Registrar's minute book for criminal and civil cases heard in the Supreme and County courts at Smithers, May 1931 - June 1953.

Civil case files with the exception of divorce and adoption files which have been removed from this series and are filed separately in GR-2754 and GR-2755.

Civil case files. Orders and judgments from 1918-1924 and 1927 can be found in GR-2393.

Small Debts case files.

Adoption case files.

This series consists of cause books from the Smithers small debts court.

Judge's record of "Juvenile Court Proceedings from July 12th, 1936".

Conditional sales and lien notes indexes, 1913-1937 and 1938-1949.

This series contains probate/estate files from both County and Supreme courts, 1921-1947; 1951-1953.

County Court naturalization files.