Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainAround Special Area No. 3, 4 historic places within 100 km
As a municipality it dates, by Wikidata, from April 7, 1959, a date that can mark incorporation or a merger as well as a founding. A further one sits a short way past the edge of town.
The registers find 4 places within 100 km of Special Area No. 3
They are 2 heritage railway stations, a provincial or municipal listing and a National Historic Site. “Former Canadian Northern Railway Station, Hanna, Alberta”, 82 km off, is the oldest: 1913. Its one place of national rank is British Block Cairn, at 92 km.
The 4 nearest, within 100 km
| Paradise Valley Alberta Wheat Pool Grain ElevatorProvincial historic resource · 71 km away, in Special Area No. 4 |
| Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Empress, AlbertaHeritage Railway Station · 1914–1915 · 75 km away, in Special Area No. 2 |
| Former Canadian Northern Railway Station, Hanna, AlbertaHeritage Railway Station · 1913–1914 · 82 km away, in Hanna |
| British Block CairnNational Historic Site · 92 km away, in Cypress County |
Just outside Special Area No. 3: 1
| Alsask Radar DomeMunicipal heritage property · 100 m outside the town |
A growing town: 8% of Special Area No. 3’s homes went up from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
More than half of Special Area No. 3’s housing predates 1981. Special Area No. 3’s largest group of homes, 35%, went up from 1961 to 1980. Before 1961: 19% of Special Area No. 3’s homes, near the usual 18%.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Special Area No. 3 in brief
Of the homes standing in Special Area No. 3, 19% went up before 1961, against 18% in the typical town.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- People and events. Parks Canada’s open file gives its national historic persons no place. A town’s page names one only when the person was born there (matched by name and both life years) or one of its own historic places carries the name and its record speaks of them; national historic events stay off.
- The federal register. Every federal designation is in Parks Canada’s directory, and the Canadian Register of Historic Places gives most of them a bilingual statement of significance.
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- 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.
Questions about Special Area No. 3’s history
How many historic places does Special Area No. 3 have on the registers?
None within Special Area No. 3 itself; the nearest is 71 km off: Paradise Valley Alberta Wheat Pool Grain Elevator, in Special Area No. 4.
When did Special Area No. 3 become a municipality?
The date Wikidata holds for Special Area No. 3 is April 7, 1959, whether founding, incorporation or merger.
How old are the homes in Special Area No. 3?
19% of its homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical Canadian town.
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).