Photo: JustSomePics · CC BY-SA 3.0In Chesley, 50% of homes go back before 1961
Most towns have 18%, so Chesley has 2.8 times as much. The registers count 5 places within 25 km of Chesley; the closest, Donaldson Site, is 22 km away. Heritage of the first rank begins 21 km away, in Port Elgin. John Peter McArthur heads a list of 15 people born in Chesley before 1914.
Leave Chesley and the first historic place is Donaldson Site, 22 km away
They are 3 heritage lighthouses, a National Historic Site and a Classified Federal Heritage Building. The registers hold 5 within 25 km. Tower, 24 km off, is the oldest: 1855.
The 5 nearest, within 25 km
| Donaldson SiteNational Historic Site · 22 km away, in Port Elgin |
| Saugeen River Rear Range LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1903–1904 · 22 km away, in Port Elgin |
| McNab Point LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1877–1878 · 22 km away, in Port Elgin |
| Saugeen River Front Range LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1903–1904 · 23 km away, in Port Elgin |
| TowerClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1855–1860 · 24 km away, in Port Elgin |
50% of Chesley’s homes were built before 1961
Chesley built little from 1981 to 2000: 16% of its homes, where most towns have 23%. Homes built from 2001 to 2015 make up just 9.9% of Chesley’s, against 15% in the typical town. From 2016 to 2021 Chesley added 3.6% of its homes, close to the typical town’s 4.1%.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Chesley’s 15 natives of the years before 1914
Of them all, Cyclone Taylor lived longest: 95 years, until 1979. Marshall Kay closes the list, born in 1904. 11 Wikipedias cover Cyclone Taylor, the most of anyone here. It starts with John Peter McArthur, born in 1862.
Everyone born in Chesley → Born before 1914 (the page’s periods: Confederation to the First World War). Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s Wikipedia article.
Chesley in brief
The 2021 Census dates 50% of Chesley’s homes before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Among the lives from its past: Cyclone Taylor (1884), Mickey MacKay (1894) and Marshall Kay (1904). The other figures are unremarkable: like most towns its size, it has no historic place.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- The tiers. National Historic Sites and the most protected buildings form the top tier; recognized federal buildings, stations and lighthouses the second; provincial and municipal listings the third.
- Protection. Federal recognition isn’t a planning control: buildings the federal government owns follow its heritage policy, while others are protected only by a provincial or municipal designation.
- 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.
- The grade. History isn’t one of Canada’s graded pillars, so this page describes and compares without a letter.
- 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.
Questions about Chesley’s history
How many historic places does Chesley have on the registers?
Chesley has none of its own; Donaldson Site, in Port Elgin, the closest at 22 km, holds the highest designation.
How old are the homes in Chesley?
50% predate 1961, where the typical town has 18%.
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).