TopNational Historic Site · 1639Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons Missionoff Highway 12Photo: P199 · Public domain · Commons file
Mission of St. Ignace II · Photo: Yoho2001 · CC BY-SA 3.03historic places on the registers
History of Tay · Canada’s heritage registers
Tay keeps a building from 1639: Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons Mission
All 3 historic places listed in Tay are of the highest rank. That is 2.5 for every 10,000 people, a higher rate than 88% of Canadian towns. The municipality’s date on Wikidata is 1994: a founding, an incorporation or an amalgamation, the record doesn’t say which.
Historic places
3
2.5 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
3
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1639
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
26%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
2 of the 3 highest designations in Tay, in photos
Of the places on Tay’s registers, 2 have a photo here. Among Tay’s top-tier places, 2 are pictured. First come Mission of St. Ignace II and Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons Mission.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
The map
Where Tay’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations
Dots open their places’ pages; hover first to read the name.
The 3, by tier
3 Highest designations
Most entries are federal, from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations; local listings outside Québec are known only through Wikidata items with an article.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
3 places in Tay with the highest designation
They were designated between 1920 and 1955. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. The oldest, Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons Mission, dates from 1639; the newest from 1649. Each one opens its own page.
TopHomes by age
Tay is still building: 7.8% of homes date from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
Half of the homes standing in Tay today were built before 1981. Before 1961: 26% of Tay’s homes, against 18% in most towns. The busiest building years in Tay were from 1961 to 1980, which account for 27% of today’s homes.
26%
Before 1961
27%
1961–80
26%
1981–2000
14%
2001–15
7.8%
2016–21
TayTypical 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
3 Tay births on record from before 1914
Fame, by Wikipedia: Ty Arbour first, in 6 languages. Ty Arbour comes first, born in 1896. The most recent birth is Jack Arbour’s, in 1899. Of them all, Ty Arbour lived longest: 83 years, until 1979.
Ty Arbour
Ernest Morrow
Jack Arbour
18501875190019251950
Ty Arbour1896–1979 · Canadian ice hockey player
EM
Ernest Morrow1897–1949 · Canadian flying ace
Jack Arbour1899–1973 · Canadian ice hockey defenceman
Everyone born in Tay → 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
Tay has the 3rd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 11,900 to 12,100 residents, by places on the registers.
Tay3
Only St. Andrews and Saint-Raymond have more. The middle one has 0. 10 of them have nothing on the registers.
Neighbours
Tay and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tay | 11,968 | 3 | 3 | 1639 |
| Midland | 19,305 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Penetanguishene | 11,141 | 1 | 0 | 1840 |
| Tiny | 14,195 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Tay in brief
Older stock first: 26% of homes in Tay were standing by 1961, against 18% in the typical town. There are 3 historic places in all, 3 with the highest designation; Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons Mission heads them. Just 2 towns of its size, out of 16, have more historic places. The town’s people of the past are Ty Arbour (1896), Ernest Morrow (1897) and Jack Arbour (1899). Beyond that, the designations ran from 1920 to 1955.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Map points. Parks Canada publishes no coordinates, so federal places are pinned where Wikidata puts them.
- 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 grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- 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. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- 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.
- Protection. National historic designation honours a place but binds only federal owners; a private building’s protection depends on its province or municipality.
Questions about Tay’s history
What is the oldest building in Tay?
Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons Mission — its record dates it to 1639 (National Historic Site).
Which places in Tay have the highest designation?
They are Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons Mission, Saint-Louis Mission and Mission of St. Ignace II.
How old are the homes in Tay?
26% predate 1961, where 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).