Photo: Michael Pardo from Niagara, Canada · CC0Pelham and its setting: 18 historic places within 25 km
The closest top-tier heritage to Pelham is in Welland, 6.6 km away. The earliest of 3 people born in Pelham before 1914 is Henry Ryan Haney.
13 places of national importance within 25 km of Pelham
The mix: 12 National Historic Sites, 2 heritage railway stations and 2 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings. At 6.7 km, “Welland Canal, Bridge 13” in Welland is the closest. By age, Navy Island leads, from 1761, at 24 km.
The 12 nearest, within 25 km
| Welland Canal, Bridge 13Designated heritage property (part IV) · 1930 · 6.7 km away, in Welland |
| Battle of Cook's MillsNational Historic Site · 1814 · 11 km away, in Welland |
| Battle of Beaver DamsNational Historic Site · 1813 · 13 km away, in Thorold |
| VIA Rail Station, St. Catharines, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1917–1918 · 13 km away, in St. Catharines |
| ArmouryRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1905–1906 · 15 km away, in St. Catharines |
| Salem Chapel, British Methodist Episcopal ChurchNational Historic Site · 1851–1856 · 15 km away, in St. Catharines |
| Battle of Lundy's LaneNational Historic Site · 1814 · 18 km away, in Niagara Falls |
| R. Nathaniel Dett British Methodist Episcopal ChurchNational Historic Site · 1836–1837 · 18 km away, in Niagara Falls |
| Toronto Power Generating StationNational Historic Site · 1903–1914 · 19 km away, in Niagara Falls |
| Front Range LighthouseRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1879–1881 · 19 km away, in St. Catharines |
| VIA Rail/Canadian National Railways Station, Niagara Falls, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1879–1880 · 21 km away, in Niagara Falls |
| Battle of ChippawaNational Historic Site · 1814 · 23 km away, in Niagara Falls |
Within 25 km of Pelham, the oldest record dates from 1761
No place near Pelham is close: these lie up to 25 km away, each by its first recorded construction date.
Within 25 km, 18 records give a date. 11 predate Confederation. First by date comes Navy Island in Niagara Falls, from 1761.
Pelham is still building: 9.1% of homes date from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
Half of the homes standing in Pelham today were built before 2001. Before 1961: 24% of Pelham’s homes, against 18% in most towns. The busiest building years in Pelham were from 1981 to 2000, which account for 29% of today’s homes.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
3 Pelham births on record from before 1914
In 1835 came the earliest, Henry Ryan Haney. The line ends with Charles Swayze (1869). Longest lived was Charles Swayze, 85 years in all (1954).
Everyone born in Pelham → Born before 1914 (the page’s periods: Confederation to the First World War). Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s Wikipedia article.
How Pelham compares with 16 towns its size
Towns of 19,800 to 20,200 residents, by places on the registers.
Ahead of it: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Fort York-Liberty Village and Lower Sackville. The typical town its size has 0. For 13, the registers list nothing.
Pelham and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham | 19,980 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Welland | 66,480 | 2 | 1 | 1814 |
| Thorold | 33,844 | 1 | 1 | 1813 |
| Wainfleet | 7,329 | 0 | 0 | — |
| St. Catharines | 153,865 | 6 | 1 | 1851 |
| Beamsville | 28,356 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Niagara Falls | 113,983 | 7 | 6 | 1761 |
Pelham in brief
Counted by age, 24% of Pelham’s homes predate 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Its history in lives: Frank Smith (1857), Henry Ryan Haney (1835) and Charles Swayze (1869). For its size the list is short: the typical town has 0 historic places.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. 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. 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.
- 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.
Questions about Pelham’s history
How many historic places does Pelham have on the registers?
None within Pelham itself; the nearest is 6.7 km off: Welland Canal, Bridge 13, in Welland.
How old are the homes in Pelham?
Before 1961: 24% of its homes; 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).