TopNational Historic Site · 1913–1924Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints348 3 St. W.Photo: RobertNN · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints · Photo: RobertNN · CC BY-SA 4.01historic place on the registers
History of Cardston · Canada’s heritage registers
Cardston’s 1 historic place is a top designation
In Cardston that place is Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a national historic site, from 1913. For every 10,000 residents Cardston has 2.6, ahead of 88% of Canadian towns. Wikidata knows 3 more provincial or municipal listings here that get no page, lacking an open statement or an encyclopedia article.
Historic places
1
2.6 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1913
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
29%
typical town: 18%
Through time
The past of Cardston, 1889 to 1917
By date: 2 old photographs of the town, with the oldest view of one of its historic places. The dots mark each picture’s year; tap one to enlarge it.
1889
c. 1914
1917Public domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
The map
Where Cardston’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations
Names show on hover, and a tap takes you to the place’s page.
The 1, by tier
1 Highest designations
Federal designations come from Parks Canada’s directory; a province’s or a council’s own listing shows here only when Wikidata holds it and an encyclopedia covers it.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
One place in Cardston with the highest designation
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
Around the town
13 historic places within 100 km of Cardston
Fort Whoop-Up, 56 km off, is the nearest of 5 top-tier places. Oldest of them is Fort Whoop-Up (1869), 56 km off. At 45 km, RCMP Detachment Garage in Pincher Creek No. 9 is the closest.
The 12 nearest, within 100 km
| RCMP Detachment GarageRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1927–1929 · 45 km away, in Pincher Creek No. 9 |
| Raymond Buddhist ChurchProvincial historic resource · 56 km away, in Raymond |
| Fort Whoop-UpNational Historic Site · 1869–1870 · 56 km away, in Cardston County |
| Raymond Community CentreProvincial historic resource · 56 km away, in Raymond |
| Territorial Court HouseNational Historic Site · 1902–1905 · 59 km away, in Fort Macleod |
| Empress TheatreProvincial historic resource · 1912 · 60 km away, in Fort Macleod |
| Fort MacleodNational Historic Site · 1874–1875 · 61 km away, in Fort Macleod |
| Head-Smashed-In Buffalo JumpWorld Heritage Site · 66 km away, in Willow Creek No. 26 |
| Michelsen FarmsteadProvincial historic resource · 1912 · 66 km away, in Stirling |
| Stirling Agricultural VillageNational Historic Site · 1890 · 67 km away, in Stirling |
| Frank SlideProvincial historic resource · 90 km away, in Crowsnest Pass |
| LilleProvincial historic resource · 94 km away, in Crowsnest Pass |
Homes by age
Little new building in Cardston: 1.2% of homes date from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
More than half of Cardston’s housing predates 1981. At 29%, Cardston’s share of pre-1961 homes is above the typical town’s 18%. Cardston’s largest group of homes, 29%, went up from 1961 to 1980.
29%
Before 1961
29%
1961–80
23%
1981–2000
18%
2001–15
1.2%
2016–21
CardstonTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Born here
7 people born in Cardston before 1914
At the other end is George Woolf, from 1910. 49 Wikipedias cover Fay Wray, the most of anyone here. The earliest is Solon Earl Low, born in 1900. Fay Wray lived longest, to 97, dying in 2004.
Solon Earl Low
Doral Pilling
Lee Leavitt
Rose Marie Reid
Fay Wray
Frederick Davis Shaw
George Woolf
190019251950
Fay Wray1907–2004 · Actress
George Woolf1910–1946 · Canadian jockey
Solon Earl Low1900–1962 · Canadian politician
DP
Doral Pilling1906–1982 · Canadian Olympic javelin thrower
RR
Rose Marie Reid1906–1978 · American fashion designer
Frederick Davis Shaw1909–1977 · Canadian politician
LL
Lee Leavitt1906–1984 · Canadian politician
Everyone born in Cardston → Born before 1914 (the page’s periods: Confederation to the First World War). Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s Wikipedia article.
Neighbours
Cardston and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardston | 3,863 | 1 | 1 | 1913 |
| Cardston County | 4,938 | 1 | 1 | 1869 |
| Blood 148 | 4,404 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Cardston in brief
Of the homes standing in Cardston, 29% went up before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. The count is 1 historic place, one with the highest designation, with Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints first. Fay Wray (1907), George Woolf (1910) and Solon Earl Low (1900) lead its people of the past. Beyond that, it has one historic place, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 1); and its one place was designated in 1992.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Provincial and municipal lists. Provincial and municipal listings here come from Wikidata alone, since the provinces’ own registers can’t be reused; a listing needs an encyclopedia article to get a page.
- Protection. A National Historic Site designation recognises significance; it doesn’t by itself protect a building the federal government doesn’t own. Legal protection comes from provincial and municipal designations, whose own registers aren’t open data outside Québec.
- The federal register. Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations lists every National Historic Site, federal heritage building, heritage railway station and lighthouse; the Canadian Register of Historic Places adds their statements in English and French.
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- The tiers. Three tiers: the top for National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements, a second for the other federal designations, a third for provincial and municipal listings.
- People and events. The open directory puts its national historic persons nowhere, so a town shows one only on firm ground: a birth there, matched by name and life years, or a historic place there named for the person whose record says so. Events are left out.
- Map points. Federal places get their map points from Wikidata, since Parks Canada’s files carry none; they are as mapped there.
Questions about Cardston’s history
Which places in Cardston have the highest designation?
It is Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
What is the oldest building in Cardston?
By its record, Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, from 1913 (National Historic Site).
How old are the homes in Cardston?
Before 1961: 29% of its homes; the typical town has 18%.
Why might a heritage building in Cardston be missing here?
Provincial and municipal registers outside Québec aren’t open data. Wikidata knows 3 more listings in Cardston, but without an open description or an encyclopedia article they get no page.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).