The Riverview Hospital Historical Society collection consists of the records collected and maintained by the Riverview Hospital Historical Society (RHHS). Through their museum and library, the RHHS acquired and stewarded records documenting the history of Riverview Hospital, the British Columbia School of Psychiatric Nursing, and the history of psychiatric care in British Columbia.

The collection consists of a range of documentary forms, including: reports, theses, newspaper clippings, newsletters, publications, correspondence, manuals, plans and drawings, directories, inventories, procedures, programmes, annuals, invitations, motion pictures, personal narratives, staff lists, minutes, study notes, scrapbooks, ephemera, and photographs depicting aspects of social and administrative life at the hospital and school.

The collection is arranged into ten series that reflect original collections maintained by the RHHS, and are organized by media type or content. See the Arrangement note below for more information.

The series consists of photographs predominantly depicting aspects of social and administrative life at Riverview Hospital and the School of Psychiatric Nursing as well as and Colony Farm. The photographs in the series portray the everyday social life of Riverview Hospital staff and volunteers as well as events, meetings, gatherings, and kinds of work they undertook. Additionally the series depicts scenes of Riverview Hospital's many buildings in varying states of completion, portraits of prize winning livestock (Holstein cattle, Clydesdale and Belgian horses), scenes during periods of flooding at Colony Farm, and equipment, vehicles, and technology used by the Hospital.

The glass plate negatives in Subseries 01 and 04 are known to have been taken by W.J. Moore, a prominent Vancouver photographer. It is possible that the entire collection was taken by W.J. Moore, although it has not been possible to confirm. Some photographs in Subseries 02 are thought to depict the Provincial Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster. Photographs in Subseries 04 are also thought to depict the Dominion Experimental Farm in Agassiz, B.C.

Record types consists largely of silver gelatin negatives in large format cellulose acetate sheets and cellulose acetate film strips. The subseries also contains a collection of glass plate negatives, chromogenic colour negative film strips and large format sheets, silver gelatin DOP prints, a photograph album, and a scrapbook.

The subseries consists of photographs thought to have been taken by W.J.Moore although it is possible they were taken by another photographer. The assumption of provenance has been assumed based on the context in which the negatives were found. It has not been possible to confirm. The photographs depict the buildings, livestock, farm workers (likely Essondale patients), and employees of Colony Farm and Essondale (Riverview Hospital). The subjects consist primarily of cows and horses, as Colony Farm was known across the province for the quality of its livestock. It was awarded a master breeder shield in 1930 from the British Columbia Branch of Holstein Canada. Many of the agricultural photographs also show Essondale's West Lawn building at various points in its construction.

The subseries consists of b&w glass negatives depicting the barn buildings, animals, and farm workers at Colony Farm, as well as some unidentified locations.

This series consists of records related to the construction and operations on Colony Farm at Riverview Hospital. The materials relate to the original construction planning and dyking done to create Colony Farm, as well as some of the early auction and sale records of cattle and horses.

Record types include correspondence, financial records, agreements, receipts, a certificate, and policy material.