Photo: Verne Equinox · CC BY-SA 3.0Older housing stands out in Westville: 38% predates 1961
The typical town has 18%: Westville has 2.2 times the share. Within 50 km of Westville there are 10 designated places; Government of Canada Building, at 6.1 km, is the closest. Look 4.2 km away, to Stellarton, for the nearest place of the highest designation. Wikidata gives 1894 for the municipality, whether that is when it was founded, incorporated or merged.
Within 50 km of Westville, the decades after Confederation left the most
The nearest historic places to Westville, out to 50 km, by the first construction date on each record.
9 dated places within 50 km make up the record. 2 go back before 1867. The earliest is Pictou Academy in Pictou, begun in 1818.
Near Westville, within 50 km: 3 places of national rank
Government of Canada Building in New Glasgow is the nearest, 6.1 km away. They are spread over 5 towns, including Pictou, Colchester County, Subdivision B and Truro. The mix: 5 provincial or municipal listings, 3 National Historic Sites and 2 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings.
The 10 nearest, within 50 km
| Government of Canada BuildingRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1961–1962 · 6.1 km away, in New Glasgow |
| Pictou Railway Station (Intercolonial)National Historic Site · 1904–1905 · 13 km away, in Pictou |
| Pictou AcademyNational Historic Site · 1818–1819 · 13 km away, in Pictou |
| McCulloch House MuseumProvincially Registered Property · 13 km away, in Pictou |
| Balmoral Grist Mill MuseumProvincially Registered Property · 1874 · 38 km away, in Colchester County, Subdivision B |
| Sutherland Steam Mill MuseumProvincially Registered Property · 1958 · 38 km away, in Colchester County, Subdivision B |
| Wood Islands LighthouseDesignated heritage place · 1876 · 44 km away, in Belfast |
| Fraser Octagon HouseProvincially Registered Property · 1857 · 48 km away, in Colchester County, Subdivision B |
| Truro Post OfficeNational Historic Site · 1883–1887 · 49 km away, in Truro |
| ArmouryRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1874–1875 · 50 km away, in Truro |
New homes are rare in Westville: 1.9% from 2016–21, against a usual 4.1%
Homes built from 1981 to 2000 make up just 18% of Westville’s, against 23% in the typical town. Half of the homes standing in Westville today were built before 1981. Building from 1961 to 1980 gave Westville 29% of its homes, near the usual 27%.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
How Westville compares with 16 towns its size
Towns of 3,700 to 3,700 residents, by places on the registers.
Just one has more: Sainte-Claire. The middle one has 0. For 15, the registers list nothing.
Westville and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westville | 3,731 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Pictou County, Subdivision B | 6,482 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Stellarton | 4,251 | 1 | 1 | — |
| New Glasgow | 10,378 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Trenton | 2,499 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Pictou County, Subdivision C | 8,847 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Pictou | 3,307 | 3 | 2 | 1818 |
Westville in brief
Westville has 38% of its homes from before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. For its size the list is short: the typical town has 0 historic places. The other figures are unremarkable: John MacLellan (1878) is its person of the past on the record.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Only Wikidata gives open access to listings on provincial and municipal registers outside Québec; without an article such a place is counted but not paged.
- 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.
- 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.
- Protection. National historic designation honours a place but binds only federal owners; a private building’s protection depends on its province or municipality.
Questions about Westville’s history
How many historic places does Westville have on the registers?
The registers have nothing inside Westville; Government of Canada Building, in New Glasgow, is 6.1 km away.
When did Westville become a municipality?
By Wikidata, Westville dates from 1894; the record doesn’t say whether that is a founding, an incorporation or a merger.
How old are the homes in Westville?
38% predate 1961, where the typical town has 18%.
Why might a heritage building in Westville be missing here?
Provincial and municipal registers outside Québec aren’t open data. Wikidata knows one more listing in Westville, but without an open description or an encyclopedia article it gets 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).