Photo: Jfvoll · CC BY-SA 4.0Drayton’s surroundings: 26 historic places within 50 km
Fergus, 23 km from Drayton, has the nearest place of the highest rank. Records name 2 people born in Drayton before 1914; the first is Ross Atkinson McEwing.
11 places of national importance within 50 km of Drayton
They stand in 13 towns, Guelph, Waterloo and Stratford among them. All told, 26 places are within 50 km. Nearest comes Former Elora Drill Shed, 21 km off, in Fergus.
The 12 nearest, within 50 km
| Former Elora Drill ShedNational Historic Site · 1865–1866 · 21 km away, in Fergus |
| Wellington County House of Industry and RefugeNational Historic Site · 1876–1878 · 23 km away, in Fergus |
| West Montrose Covered BridgeDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 1881 · 24 km away, in Elmira |
| Brubacher HouseDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 1850 · 32 km away, in Waterloo |
| Huether HotelDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 33 km away, in Waterloo |
| Elizabeth Ziegler Public SchoolDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 1931 · 34 km away, in Waterloo |
| Erb-Kumpf HouseDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 34 km away, in Waterloo |
| WoodsideNational Historic Site · 1853–1854 · 35 km away, in Bridgeport East |
| Former Canadian National Railways (VIA Rail) Station, Kitchener, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1897–1898 · 35 km away, in Mt. Hope Huron Park |
| Waterloo County GaolDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 1853 · 36 km away, in Central Frederick |
| Federal BuildingRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1937–1939 · 36 km away, in City Commercial Core |
| The Walper HotelDesignated heritage property (part IV) · 1893 · 36 km away, in City Commercial Core |
Around Drayton, within 50 km, most dated places come from the decades after Confederation
No place near Drayton is close: these lie up to 50 km away, each by its first recorded construction date.
Within 50 km, building dates exist for 24 places. 9 go back before 1867. The oldest is Joseph Schneider Haus in Victoria Park, from 1816.
29% of Drayton’s homes are older than 1961, against a usual 18%
New building in Drayton runs at the usual pace: 4.5% of homes from 2016–21, the typical town 4.1%. The largest single period is from 1981 to 2000, with 30% of Drayton’s homes. Drayton built little from 1961 to 1980: 18% of its homes, where most towns have 27%.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Drayton in brief
In Drayton, 29% of homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Beyond that, like most towns its size, it has no historic place; and Addie Aylestock (1909) and Ross Atkinson McEwing (1888) are its people of the past on the record.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- 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.
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
Questions about Drayton’s history
How many historic places does Drayton have on the registers?
Drayton has none of its own; Former Elora Drill Shed, in Fergus, the closest at 21 km, holds the highest designation.
How old are the homes in Drayton?
29% 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).