TopNational Historic Site · 1880–1881Bethune Memorial House235 John Street NorthPhoto: Claudette Bue · CC BY-SA 1.0 · Commons file
Bethune Memorial House · Photo: Claudette Bue · CC BY-SA 1.01historic place on the registers
History of Gravenhurst · Canada’s heritage registers
Heritage in Gravenhurst: 1 historic place of the highest rank
Gravenhurst’s one place is Bethune Memorial House, a national historic site begun in 1880. Scaled to its population, Gravenhurst’s 0.7 per 10,000 residents beats 76% of Canadian towns.
Historic places
1
0.7 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1880
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
24%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where Gravenhurst’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations
Each dot is a place: point at it for the name, tap it for its page.
The 1, by tier
1 Highest 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 Gravenhurst with the highest designation
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
Around the town
Within 50 km of Gravenhurst, 7 top designations
They are spread over 8 towns, including Tay, Orillia and Bracebridge. The first one out is Woodchester Villa, 15 km away in Bracebridge. Oldest of them is Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons Mission (1639), 43 km off.
The 11 nearest, within 50 km
| Woodchester VillaOntario Heritage Trust easement · 1882 · 15 km away, in Bracebridge |
| Stephen Leacock Museum / Old Brewery BayNational Historic Site · 1928–1929 · 34 km away, in Orillia |
| Canadian National Railway Station, Orillia, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1917–1918 · 34 km away, in Orillia |
| Mnjikaning Fish WeirsNational Historic Site · 1650 · 34 km away, in Ramara |
| Mission of St. Ignace IINational Historic Site · 1649 · 35 km away, in Tay |
| Saint-Louis MissionNational Historic Site · 1640 · 39 km away, in Tay |
| Beausoleil IslandNational Historic Site · 40 km away, in Georgian Bay |
| Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons MissionNational Historic Site · 1639 · 43 km away, in Tay |
| Canal Lake Concrete Arch BridgeNational Historic Site · 1905–1906 · 47 km away, in Lindsay |
| St. James on-the-LinesOntario Heritage Trust easement · 1840 · 47 km away, in Penetanguishene |
| Canadian National Railway Station, Huntsville, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1924–1925 · 47 km away, in Huntsville |
Homes by age
Old houses stand out in Gravenhurst: 24% predate 1961, where most towns have 18%
More of Gravenhurst’s homes were built from 1961 to 1980 than in any other period: 31%. New building is strong in Gravenhurst: 5.9% of homes date from 2016–21, where most towns have 4.1%. Over half of the homes in Gravenhurst were already standing by 1981.
24%
Before 1961
31%
1961–80
24%
1981–2000
15%
2001–15
5.9%
2016–21
GravenhurstTypical 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
Gravenhurst has the 4th most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 14,500 to 14,700 residents, by places on the registers.
Gravenhurst1
Only Vieux-Montréal, Truro and Mont-Laurier have more. The middle one has 0. For 9, the registers list nothing.
Neighbours
Gravenhurst and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravenhurst | 14,576 | 1 | 1 | 1880 |
| Bracebridge | 18,676 | 1 | 0 | 1882 |
In brief
Gravenhurst in brief
Before 1961: 24% of Gravenhurst’s homes, against 18% in the typical town. In all there are 1 historic place, one with the highest designation, including Bethune Memorial House. Only 3 of the 16 towns nearest its size have more historic places. Beyond that, Norman Bethune (1890) and Mickey McGuire (1898) are its people of the past on the record; and its designation dates from 1997.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- 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.
- The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- 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.
- 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.
- Map points. Parks Canada publishes no coordinates, so federal places are pinned where Wikidata puts them.
- 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.
Questions about Gravenhurst’s history
Which places in Gravenhurst have the highest designation?
It is Bethune Memorial House.
What is the oldest building in Gravenhurst?
By its record, Bethune Memorial House, from 1880 (National Historic Site).
How old are the homes in Gravenhurst?
The 2021 Census dates 24% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical 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).