Photo: maar345 · CC BY 2.0Older housing stands out in Renfrew: 52% predates 1961
Against 18% in the typical town, Renfrew has 2.9 times the share. The nearest heritage to Renfrew is Gillies Grove and House, 25 km off, one of 6 places within 50 km. The nearest town with a top designation is McNab/Braeside, 20 km away. The earliest of 16 people born in Renfrew before 1914 is John Alfred McAndrew.
The 50 km around Renfrew keep buildings from as early as 1854
The area here stretches to 50 km around Renfrew: each historic place by the first construction date it records.
George Bryson House, in Mansfield-et-Pontefract, is the oldest (1854). 6 dated places within 50 km make up the record. 2 predate Confederation.
The registers find 6 places within 50 km of Renfrew
They are spread over 4 towns, including Mansfield-et-Pontefract, Almonte and McNab/Braeside. The mix: 4 National Historic Sites and 2 places classified by Québec. Nearest comes Gillies Grove and House, 25 km off, in McNab/Braeside.
The 6 nearest, within 50 km
| Gillies Grove and HouseNational Historic Site · 1937–1938 · 25 km away, in McNab/Braeside |
| D.A. Gillies BuildingNational Historic Site · 1896–1899 · 26 km away, in Arnprior |
| Félix-Gabriel-Marchand BridgeClassified heritage building (Québec) · 1898 · 43 km away, in Mansfield-et-Pontefract |
| George Bryson HouseClassified heritage building (Québec) · 1854 · 44 km away, in Mansfield-et-Pontefract |
| Rosamond Woollen MillNational Historic Site · 1866–1901 · 47 km away, in Almonte |
| Former Almonte Post OfficeNational Historic Site · 1889–1892 · 47 km away, in Almonte |
New homes are rare in Renfrew: 2.7% from 2016–21, against a usual 4.1%
Renfrew built little from 2001 to 2015: 8.7% of its homes, where most towns have 15%. Homes built from 1981 to 2000 make up just 13% of Renfrew’s, against 23% in the typical town. Half of the homes standing in Renfrew today were built before 1961.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
From 1859 to 1912: lives that began in Renfrew
Counting only births before 1914, there are 16. Longest lived was Ambrose O'Brien, 83 years in all (1968). Fame, by Wikipedia: Charlotte Whitton first, in 15 languages. The decades after Confederation gave 15 of the 16.
Everyone born in Renfrew → 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 Renfrew compares with 16 towns its size
Towns of 8,700 to 8,800 residents, by places on the registers.
Ahead of it: Nicolet. The middle one has 0. 15 of them have nothing on the registers.
Renfrew and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renfrew | 8,721 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Horton | 3,550 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Admaston/Bromley | 3,086 | 0 | 0 | — |
Renfrew in brief
Before 1961: 52% of Renfrew’s homes, against 18% in the typical town. Its people of the past include Charlotte Whitton (1896), Ambrose O'Brien (1885) and Bill Brydge (1898). Most towns its size have more historic places: the typical one has 0.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Protection. A National Historic Site designation recognises significance; it doesn’t by itself protect a building the federal government doesn’t own. Legal protection comes from provincial and municipal designations, whose own registers aren’t open data outside Québec.
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- People and events. National historic persons carry no place in the open file. They appear on a town’s page when born there (same name, same birth and death years) or when a historic place inside it carries their name and its record names them with their dates; national historic events don’t appear.
- 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.
- The federal register. The federal list is complete and open: Parks Canada’s directory for the designations, the Canadian Register of Historic Places for what each one is and why it matters.
Questions about Renfrew’s history
How many historic places does Renfrew have on the registers?
None inside Renfrew yet. The nearest, Gillies Grove and House, carries the highest designation, 25 km away in McNab/Braeside.
When did Renfrew become a municipality?
Wikidata dates the municipality of Renfrew to 1848. That can be its founding, its incorporation or a later merger.
How old are the homes in Renfrew?
The 2021 Census dates 52% 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).