LocalOntario Heritage Trust easement · 1840St. James on-the-LinesPhoto: Dabbler · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
St. James on-the-Lines · Photo: Dabbler · CC BY-SA 3.01historic place on the registers
History of Penetanguishene · Canada’s heritage registers
Penetanguishene: 1 historic place on Canada’s heritage registers
St. James on-the-Lines, from 1840, is Penetanguishene’s ontario heritage trust easement. Per resident Penetanguishene has more than 79% of Canadian towns: 0.9 for every 10,000 people.
Historic places
1
0.9 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
0
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Provincial and local listings
1
provincial and municipal listings with an encyclopedia article
Oldest building
1840
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
27%
typical town: 18%
Through time
Penetanguishene as it looked, 1847 to 1910
On one line by date: one old photograph of the town and the oldest view of one of its historic places. Tap any picture to see it full screen.
1847
c. 1910Public 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 map
Where Penetanguishene’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Provincial and local listings
Tap any dot to open that place’s own page; hovering shows its name.
The 1, by tier
1 Provincial and local listings
Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations lists the places the Government of Canada has recognized; outside Québec, provincial and municipal listings come only through Wikidata, and only those with an encyclopedia article get a page.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Provincial and local listings
One more place Penetanguishene or its province protects
Provincial and municipal listings that Wikidata records and an encyclopedia describes. Each one opens its own page.
Around the town
The highest designation, 5 times, within 25 km of Penetanguishene
Closest of all is Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons Mission, in Tay, 8.4 km off. 5 places lie within 25 km. Tay, Georgian Bay and Tiny hold most of them, among 3 towns.
The 5 nearest, within 25 km
| Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons MissionNational Historic Site · 1639 · 8.4 km away, in Tay |
| Beausoleil IslandNational Historic Site · 12 km away, in Georgian Bay |
| Saint-Louis MissionNational Historic Site · 1640 · 13 km away, in Tay |
| Mission of St. Ignace IINational Historic Site · 1649 · 18 km away, in Tay |
| Fort Sainte Marie IINational Historic Site · 1649–1650 · 19 km away, in Tiny |
Homes by age
27% of Penetanguishene’s homes are older than 1961, against a usual 18%
Half of the homes standing in Penetanguishene today were built before 1981. The busiest building years in Penetanguishene were from 1981 to 2000, which account for 29% of today’s homes. New building in Penetanguishene runs at the usual pace: 5% of homes from 2016–21, the typical town 4.1%.
27%
Before 1961
25%
1961–80
29%
1981–2000
14%
2001–15
5%
2016–21
PenetanguisheneTypical 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
Born in Penetanguishene before the First World War: 9 lives
The widest known is George McNamara: 6 Wikipedia editions. At the other end is Phil Marchildon, from 1913. It starts with Alfred Burke Thompson, born in 1862. Longest lived was Wally Downer, 90 years in all (1994).
Alfred Burke Thompson
Con Corbeau
George McNamara
Bert Corbeau
Andy Bellemer
Wally Downer
William Alfred Robinson
Herbert Flack
Phil Marchildon
18501875190019251950
George McNamara1886–1952 · Canadian ice hockey defenceman
Bert Corbeau1894–1942 · Canadian ice hockey player
William Alfred Robinson1905–1957 · Canadian politician
AT
Alfred Burke Thompson1862–1942 · Canadian politician
Con Corbeau1885–1920 · Canadian ice hockey player
AB
Andy Bellemer1903–1960 · Canadian ice hockey defenceman
PM
Phil Marchildon1913–1997 · Canadian baseball player
HF
Herbert Flack1913–1995 · Canadian speed skater
Everyone born in Penetanguishene → Born before 1914 (the page’s periods: Confederation to the First World War). Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s Wikipedia article.
Towns its size
Penetanguishene has the 3rd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 11,100 to 11,200 residents, by places on the registers.
Penetanguishene1
Ahead of it: Smiths Falls and Cabbagetown-South St.James Town. Their median is 0. 13 of them have nothing on the registers.
Neighbours
Penetanguishene and its neighbours
In brief
Penetanguishene in brief
Counted by age, 27% of Penetanguishene’s homes predate 1961, against 18% in the typical town. In all there are 1 historic place. Of the 16 towns closest in size, just 2 have more historic places. George McNamara (1886), Bert Corbeau (1894) and William Alfred Robinson (1905) lead its people of the past.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The grade. This page gives no grade; history doesn’t count toward a Canadian town’s 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.
- The tiers. The highest designations are National Historic Sites, Classified Federal Heritage Buildings and Québec’s classements; then come the other federal designations; then provincial and local listings.
- Map points. Federal places get their map points from Wikidata, since Parks Canada’s files carry none; they are as mapped there.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
Questions about Penetanguishene’s history
How many historic places does Penetanguishene have on the registers?
Inside Penetanguishene: 1 historic place.
What is the oldest building in Penetanguishene?
St. James on-the-Lines — its record dates it to 1840 (Ontario Heritage Trust easement).
How old are the homes in Penetanguishene?
27% 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).