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Westlock Alberta Grain Elevator (10119990274)Photo: Wilson Hui from Calgary, Canada · CC BY 2.0
0historic places on the registers
History of Westlock · Canada’s heritage registers

1911: the year the railway came to Westlock

The registers count 37 places within 100 km of Westlock; the closest, Newbrook Observatory, is 61 km away. The closest top-tier heritage is in Sturgeon County, 48 km from here.

Historic places within 100 km
37
7 of the highest designation
Nearest historic place
61 km
Newbrook Observatory
Homes built before 1961
17%
typical town: 18%
How it began

Westlock’s first recorded year: 1911

Trains arrived at Westlock in 1911. The charters of Westlock came in turn: a village in 1916 and a town in 1947.

How it began: Wikidata (CC0); dates read from English Wikipedia’s article “Westlock”, revision 1375490841 (CC BY-SA 4.0), and stated in our own words.

The age of the area

Within 100 km of Westlock, the oldest record dates from 1794

The nearest historic places to Westlock, out to 100 km, by the first construction date on each record.

British North America 1760–18663
After Confederation 1867–191311
Wars and Depression 1914–19456
Since 1946 1946 on5

Within 100 km, building dates exist for 25 places. Before Confederation: 3. The earliest is Fort Augustus and Fort Edmonton in Sturgeon County, begun in 1794.

Around the town

7 places of national importance within 100 km of Westlock

Nearest comes Newbrook Observatory, 61 km off, in Thorhild County. All told, 37 places are within 100 km. Their towns number 19: Downtown, Strathcona and Queen Alexandra first.

The 12 nearest, within 100 km

Newbrook ObservatoryProvincial historic resource · 1951 · 61 km away, in Thorhild County
Lac Ste. Anne PilgrimageNational Historic Site · 1889 · 62 km away, in Lac Ste. Anne County
Fort Augustus and Fort EdmontonNational Historic Site · 1794–1796 · 63 km away, in Sturgeon County
Fort AssiniboineNational Historic Site · 1823–1824 · 64 km away, in Woodlands County
Notre Dame De Lourdes Roman Catholic ChurchProvincial historic resource · 1902 · 64 km away, in Sturgeon County
Alberta Aviation MuseumMunicipal historic resource · 1942 · 69 km away, in Sherbrooke
St. Josaphat CathedralMunicipal historic resource · 1946 · 71 km away, in McCauley
Government HouseNational Historic Site · 1911–1912 · 71 km away, in Glenora
Robertson-Wesley United ChurchMunicipal historic resource · 1971 · 71 km away, in Wîhkwêntôwin
Magrath MansionProvincial historic resource · 71 km away, in Highlands
McLeod BuildingMunicipal historic resource · 1915 · 72 km away, in Downtown
First Presbyterian ChurchMunicipal historic resource · 1912 · 72 km away, in Downtown
Homes by age

Westlock added few homes from 2016 to 2021: 0.9%, where most towns have 4.1%

Westlock’s largest group of homes, 46%, went up from 1961 to 1980. Few of Westlock’s homes date from 2001 to 2015: 10%, the norm 15%. Before 1961: 17% of Westlock’s homes, near the usual 18%.

17%
Before 1961
46%
1961–80
26%
1981–2000
10%
2001–15
0.9%
2016–21
WestlockTypical town

2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.

Towns its size

How Westlock compares with 16 towns its size

Towns of 5,300 to 5,400 residents, by places on the registers.

Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce3
Inverness County, Subdivision A2
Billings Bridge - Heron Park1
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue1
Windsor1
Belvedere0
Central Frontenac0
Chisasibi0
Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay0
Electoral Area L, Cariboo0
Headingley0
Westlock0

Just these have more: Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Inverness County, Subdivision A, Billings Bridge - Heron Park, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and Windsor. The middle one has 0. 11 of them have nothing on the registers.

Neighbours

Westlock and its neighbours

TownPeoplePlacesHighestOldest
Westlock5,36300—
Westlock County7,55600—
In brief

Westlock in brief

Counted by age, only 17% of its homes come from before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Towns its size usually have more historic places; the middle one has 0.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Provincial and municipal lists. Outside Québec, provinces’ and municipalities’ heritage registers aren’t open data; their places are known only through Wikidata items with a register number, and only those with an encyclopedia article get a page.
  • Protection. Being on these registers doesn’t mean a building can’t change. Federal designation commemorates; protection is provincial or municipal, and those lists aren’t open here.
  • The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
  • People and events. National historic persons carry no place in the open file. They appear on a town’s page when born there (same name, same birth and death years) or when a historic place inside it carries their name and its record names them with their dates; national historic events don’t appear.
  • The federal register. The federal list is complete and open: Parks Canada’s directory for the designations, the Canadian Register of Historic Places for what each one is and why it matters.
  • The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.

Questions about Westlock’s history

How many historic places does Westlock have on the registers?

None within Westlock itself; the nearest is 61 km off: Newbrook Observatory, in Thorhild County.

How old are the homes in Westlock?

The 2021 Census dates 17% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical 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).