National Historic Site · 1924–1925Former L.J. Shickluna Service Station293 King Street
Photo: WB Robinson Photographer · CC BY-SA 4.01historic place on the registers
History of Port Colborne · Canada’s heritage registers
Older housing stands out in Port Colborne: 55% predates 1961
For Port Colborne, that is 3.1 times the typical town’s share, 18%. Inside the town there is 1 historic place, a top designation. It is Former L.J. Shickluna Service Station, a national historic site begun in 1924.
Historic places
1
0.5 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1924
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
55%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where Port Colborne’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
The 1, by tier
1 Highest designations
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. One place, placed by its register’s municipality, has no point and isn’t on the map.
Highest designations
One place in Port Colborne 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
The highest designation, 6 times, within 25 km of Port Colborne
At 11 km, “Welland Canal, Bridge 13” in Welland is the closest. They belong to 4 towns, chiefly Niagara Falls, Welland and Fort Erie. By age, Battle of Cook's Mills leads, from 1814, at 13 km.
The 8 nearest, within 25 km
| Welland Canal, Bridge 13Designated heritage property (part IV) · 1930 · 11 km away, in Welland |
| Battle of Cook's MillsNational Historic Site · 1814 · 13 km away, in Welland |
| Point Abino Light TowerNational Historic Site · 1917–1919 · 13 km away, in Fort Erie |
| Ridgeway BattlefieldNational Historic Site · 1866 · 16 km away, in Fort Erie |
| LighthouseRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1846–1849 · 24 km away, in Caledonia |
| Toronto Power Generating StationNational Historic Site · 1903–1914 · 24 km away, in Niagara Falls |
| Battle of Lundy's LaneNational Historic Site · 1814 · 25 km away, in Niagara Falls |
| Battle of ChippawaNational Historic Site · 1814 · 25 km away, in Niagara Falls |
Homes by age
New homes are rare in Port Colborne: 2.4% from 2016–21, against a usual 4.1%
Over half of the homes in Port Colborne were already standing by 1961. Few of Port Colborne’s homes date from 2001 to 2015: 5.4%, the norm 15%. Port Colborne built little from 1981 to 2000: 12% of its homes, where most towns have 23%.
55%
Before 1961
26%
1961–80
12%
1981–2000
5.4%
2001–15
2.4%
2016–21
Port ColborneTypical 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
4 Port Colborne births on record from before 1914
Arthur Wray reached 87, the longest life here, ending in 1993. By Wikipedia’s reach, Don Smith leads, with 4 articles. John Johnston O'Neill comes first, born in 1886. The line ends with Don Smith (1909).
John Johnston O'Neill
Charles Foster
Arthur Wray
Don Smith
18501875190019251950
DS
Don Smith1909–1978 · Canadian writer
CF
Charles Foster1893–1943 · American athlete
AW
Arthur Wray1906–1993 · Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
JO
John Johnston O'Neill1886–1966 · Canadian geologist, Geological Survey of Canada, and later, professor…
Everyone born in Port Colborne → 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
Port Colborne and its neighbours
In brief
Port Colborne in brief
The 2021 Census dates 55% of Port Colborne’s homes before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. All told, the registers hold 1 historic place, one with the highest designation, Former L.J. Shickluna Service Station among them. Don Smith (1909), Charles Foster (1893) and Arthur Wray (1906) are the best known of its historic lives. The rest is about typical: it has one historic place, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 0); and its designation dates from 1995.
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. Provincial and municipal listings here come from Wikidata alone, since the provinces’ own registers can’t be reused; a listing needs an encyclopedia article to get a page.
- 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 tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- 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 grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
Questions about Port Colborne’s history
How old are the homes in Port Colborne?
55% of its homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical Canadian town.
Which places in Port Colborne have the highest designation?
Just one: Former L.J. Shickluna Service Station.
What is the oldest building in Port Colborne?
Former L.J. Shickluna Service Station, a National Historic Site, begun in 1924.
Why might a heritage building in Port Colborne be missing here?
Provincial and municipal registers outside Québec aren’t open data. Wikidata knows 10 more listings in Port Colborne, but without an open description or an encyclopedia article they get no page.
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).