How it began
Deseronto through its dates, from 1784
The date Wikidata keeps for Deseronto is 1784; whether it was a founding or a legal act, the entry leaves open. Deseronto is named after John Deserontyon, canadian Mohawk chief.
Photo: P199 · CC BY 2.50historic places on the registers
History of Deseronto · Canada’s heritage registers
Before 1961: 56% of the homes in Deseronto
Against 18% in the typical town, Deseronto has 3.2 times the share. Christ Church, Her Majesty's Chapel Royal of the Mohawk, 2.4 km from Deseronto, heads a list of 45 historic places within 50 km. The closest top-tier heritage is in Greater Napanee, 7.8 km from here. Records name 5 people born in Deseronto before 1914; the first is Edward Walter Rathbun.
Historic places within 50 km
45
32 of the highest designation
Nearest historic place
2.4 km
Christ Church, Her Majesty's Chapel Royal of the Mohawk
Homes built before 1961
56%
typical town: 18%
Born here before 1914
5
the earliest in 1865
Through time
The old face of Deseronto
In order of date: 2 old photographs of the town. Every picture opens full screen, credit and all.
c. 1910
1910sPublic domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
The age of the area
Around Deseronto, within 50 km, the dated heritage reaches back to 1673
Places as far as 50 km from Deseronto, not in it, dated by the first construction year on their records.
New France before 17601
British North America 1760–186629
After Confederation 1867–19139
Wars and Depression 1914–19454
Since 1946 1946 on0
First by date comes Fort Frontenac in Kingston, from 1673. The chart rests on 43 dated places within 50 km. 30 predate Confederation.
Around the town
Near Deseronto, within 50 km: 32 places of national rank
They belong to 8 towns, chiefly Kingston, Belleville and Greater Napanee. The mix: 29 National Historic Sites, 9 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings and 3 Classified Federal Heritage Buildings. Fort Frontenac, 46 km off, is the oldest: 1673.
The 12 nearest, within 50 km
| Christ Church, Her Majesty's Chapel Royal of the MohawkNational Historic Site · 1843–1844 · 2.4 km away, in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory |
| Napanee Town HallNational Historic Site · 1856–1857 · 9.7 km away, in Greater Napanee |
| Old Hay Bay ChurchNational Historic Site · 1792–1793 · 11 km away, in Greater Napanee |
| Former Grand Trunk Railway (Canadian National Railways) Station, Ernestown, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1855–1857 · 24 km away, in Loyalist |
| Glanmore / Phillips-Faulkner HouseNational Historic Site · 1882–1884 · 25 km away, in Belleville |
| Belleville Railway Station (Grand Trunk)National Historic Site · 1856–1857 · 26 km away, in Belleville |
| ArmouryRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1907–1909 · 27 km away, in Belleville |
| Prince Edward Point LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1881 · 33 km away, in Picton |
| Collins Bay Institution, Administration Building, A-1Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1931–1944 · 40 km away, in Kingston |
| Sir John A. Macdonald GravesiteNational Historic Site · 1891–1892 · 41 km away, in Kingston |
| Cataraqui CemeteryNational Historic Site · 41 km away, in Kingston |
| Trent – Severn WaterwayNational Historic Site · 1830–1921 · 43 km away, in Quinte West |
Homes by age
New homes are rare in Deseronto: 2.1% from 2016–21, against a usual 4.1%
Few of Deseronto’s homes date from 1981 to 2000: 16%, the norm 23%. Homes built from 2001 to 2015 make up just 8.3% of Deseronto’s, against 15% in the typical town. Only 18% of Deseronto’s homes were built from 1961 to 1980, less than the typical town’s 27%.
56%
Before 1961
18%
1961–80
16%
1981–2000
8.3%
2001–15
2.1%
2016–21
DeserontoTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Born here
Before 1914, Deseronto gave 5 lives to the record
In 1865 came the earliest, Edward Walter Rathbun. The last born is Huron Brant, in 1909. Ted Freeman reached 86, the longest life here, ending in 1986. By Wikipedia’s reach, George Fraser Kerr leads, with 4 articles.
Edward Walter Rathbun
Frank Patrick O'Connor
George Fraser Kerr
Ted Freeman
Huron Brant
18501875190019251950
GK
George Fraser Kerr1895–1929 · Recipient of the Victoria Cross
FO
Frank Patrick O'Connor1885–1939 · Canadian politician
TF
Ted Freeman1900–1986 · Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament, 1963-1967
ER
Edward Walter Rathbun1865–1940 · Canadian business owner and politician
HB
Huron Brant1909–1944
Everyone born in Deseronto → Born before 1914 (the page’s periods: Confederation to the First World War). Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s Wikipedia article.
Neighbours
Deseronto and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deseronto | 1,844 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Greater Napanee | 18,016 | 2 | 2 | 1792 |
| Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory | 3,028 | 1 | 1 | 1843 |
| Tyendinaga | 5,005 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Deseronto in brief
Before 1961: 56% of Deseronto’s homes, against 18% in the typical town. Of its people of the past, the best known are George Fraser Kerr (1895), Frank Patrick O'Connor (1885) and Ted Freeman (1900).
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Protection. National historic designation honours a place but binds only federal owners; a private building’s protection depends on its province or municipality.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- The grade. History isn’t one of Canada’s graded pillars, so this page describes and compares without a letter.
- 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.
Questions about Deseronto’s history
How many historic places does Deseronto have on the registers?
None inside Deseronto yet. The nearest, Christ Church, Her Majesty's Chapel Royal of the Mohawk, carries the highest designation, 2.4 km away in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
How old are the homes in Deseronto?
56% 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).