TopNational Historic Site · 1888–1893Fort McNabPhoto: Mattpower123 at en · Public domain · Commons file
Maugher’s Beach Light Tower · Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.010historic places on the registers
History of Eastern Passage · Canada’s heritage registers
Heritage in Eastern Passage: 10 historic places, one of the highest rank
Among the places are 9 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings. Few towns have as much for their size as Eastern Passage: 9.3 for every 10,000 residents, more than 98% of Canadian towns. Fort McNab, begun in 1888, is the oldest by its record. Only 8.6% of its homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical Canadian town.
Historic places
10
9.3 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Other federal designations
9
Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses
Oldest building
1888
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
8.6%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
Historic Eastern Passage, in 4 photos
Begin with Fort McNab, then Maugher’s Beach Light Tower. Photos show 4 of the places Eastern Passage’s registers name; the others show their record instead. Go back furthest in Eastern Passage with Casemates: 1888.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
The map
Where Eastern Passage’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designationsOther federal designations
Tap any dot to open that place’s own page; hovering shows its name.
The 10, by tier
1 Highest designations9 Other federal 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 Eastern Passage with the highest designation
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
Other federal designations
Federal heritage in Eastern Passage: 9 more places
They date from 1888 (Casemates) to 1950. Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Their designations span 1997 to 2007. Each one opens its own page.
FedRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1888–1893CasematesPhoto: Films Oiseau de nuit · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
FedRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1940–1941Searchlight Emplacement Building 16Photo: Colin Stepney · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
FedRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1941–1942Maugher’s Beach Light TowerPhoto: Dennis G. Jarvis · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons file
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1888–1907Gun Emplacement, Magazine and Crew Shelter 1
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1888–1907Gun Emplacement, Magazine and Crew Shelter 2
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1888–1907Gun Emplacements 3 and 4, Radar Building, Left Magazine and Crew Shelter
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1906–1907Oil Stores and Artificers Shop
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1940–1941Battery Command Post
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1950–1960Former Hampton Gray Memorial School, Building 14Swordfish
What’s designated
In Eastern Passage, forts and military buildings and mills, shops and works are level at 4 each
Two of the highest-ranked are Fort McNab and Casemates. mills, shops and works weigh more here than across Canada: 40%, against 7%. All told, 4 kinds of place appear.
Forts and military buildings4
Mills, shops and works4
Public buildings1
Stations, lighthouses and bridges1
Kinds read from each place’s name and the functions its register gives; a building keeps the kind it was built as.
How old
For Eastern Passage, most dated places belong to the decades after Confederation
Each place by the first construction date on its record.
British North America 1760–18660
After Confederation 1867–19136
Wars and Depression 1914–19453
Since 1946 1946 on1
When designated
Most of Eastern Passage’s designations came in 1997
The places by the year of their designation.
1997 · 7
1960198020002020
Fort McNab went on the registers first, in 1965. 7 came in 1997. The list hasn’t grown since 2011.
Homes by age
6.3% of Eastern Passage’s homes are from 2016 to 2021 (4.1% is typical)
Homes built from 1961 to 1980 make up just 19% of Eastern Passage’s, against 27% in the typical town. Eastern Passage’s largest group of homes, 39%, went up from 1981 to 2000. 25% of Eastern Passage’s homes were built from 2001 to 2015, more than the typical town’s 15%.
8.6%
Before 1961
19%
1961–80
39%
1981–2000
25%
2001–15
6.3%
2016–21
Eastern PassageTypical 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
Eastern Passage has the most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 10,700 to 10,800 residents, by places on the registers.
Eastern Passage10
The middle one has 0. 13 of them have nothing on the registers.
Neighbours
Eastern Passage and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Passage | 10,745 | 10 | 1 | 1888 |
| Cole Harbour | 21,627 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Portland Estates | 10,164 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Manor Park | 14,148 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Schmidtville | 18,105 | 53 | 23 | 1749 |
| Westphal | 4,201 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Lawrencetown | 3,509 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Eastern Passage in brief
Eastern Passage holds 10 historic places on Canada’s registers, one with the highest designation, including Fort McNab. Among the 16 towns nearest its size, none has more historic places. the decades after Confederation account for 6 of the 10 dated places. Counted by age, only 8.6% of its homes come from before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. The big year was 1997, when 7 of the 10 were designated.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- People and events. Persons of national historic significance come with no location; a town gets one only by birthplace (name and both life years agreeing) or by one of its own places that bears the name and whose record tells the story. Events, which can’t be tied, are left out.
- The federal register. Federal places come from Parks Canada’s directory, which counts National Historic Sites, federal heritage buildings, stations and lighthouses; their statements are the register’s own.
- Protection. National historic designation honours a place but binds only federal owners; a private building’s protection depends on its province or municipality.
- Map points. Federal places get their map points from Wikidata, since Parks Canada’s files carry none; they are as mapped there.
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- Provincial and municipal lists. The local and provincial lists outside Québec aren’t published openly, so this page counts what Wikidata records and pages only the places an encyclopedia describes.
- 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.
Questions about Eastern Passage’s history
Which places in Eastern Passage have the highest designation?
It is Fort McNab.
What is the oldest building in Eastern Passage?
Fort McNab (National Historic Site): the first construction date on its record is 1888.
How old are the homes in Eastern Passage?
8.6% 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).