How it began
Wiarton’s first recorded year: 1904
Its oldest recorded station, Wiarton Train Station, dates from 1904. For the municipality of Wiarton itself, Wikidata records 1999, a date that can be a founding as much as a merger.
Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.00historic places on the registers
History of Wiarton · Canada’s heritage registers
1904: the year the railway came to Wiarton
7 places on the heritage registers lie within 25 km of Wiarton, the nearest Donaldson Site, 19 km away. Owen Sound, 23 km away, has the nearest place of the highest rank.
Historic places within 25 km
7
3 of the highest designation
Nearest historic place
19 km
Donaldson Site
Homes built before 1961
29%
typical town: 18%
The age of the area
Around Wiarton, within 25 km, most dated places come from the decades after Confederation
The area here stretches to 25 km around Wiarton: each historic place by the first construction date it records.
British North America 1760–18661
After Confederation 1867–19134
Wars and Depression 1914–19450
Since 1946 1946 on1
6 places within 25 km have a date. One goes back before 1867. Oldest of all: Tower, Port Elgin, 1855.
Around the town
3 places of the highest rank within 25 km of Wiarton
The registers hold 7 within 25 km. Among them are 3 heritage lighthouses, 2 National Historic Sites and a heritage railway station. Tower, 24 km off, is the oldest: 1855.
The 7 nearest, within 25 km
| Donaldson SiteNational Historic Site · 19 km away, in Port Elgin |
| Saugeen River Rear Range LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1903–1904 · 21 km away, in Port Elgin |
| Saugeen River Front Range LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1903–1904 · 21 km away, in Port Elgin |
| Billy Bishop Boyhood HomeNational Historic Site · 1884–1885 · 22 km away, in Owen Sound |
| Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Owen Sound, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1946–1948 · 22 km away, in Owen Sound |
| TowerClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1855–1860 · 24 km away, in Port Elgin |
| McNab Point LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1877–1878 · 25 km away, in Port Elgin |
Homes by age
Wiarton keeps more old homes than most towns: 29% from before 1961, against 18%
The busiest building years in Wiarton were from 1961 to 1980, which account for 30% of today’s homes. From 2016 to 2021 Wiarton added 4% of its homes, close to the typical town’s 4.1%. Half of the homes standing in Wiarton today were built before 1981.
29%
Before 1961
30%
1961–80
26%
1981–2000
12%
2001–15
4%
2016–21
WiartonTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Towns its size
How Wiarton compares with 16 towns its size
Towns of 9,700 to 9,900 residents, by places on the registers.
Wiarton0
Only Roberval, Lac-Deschênes, Lorraine and Shediac have more. The middle one has 0. 12 of them have nothing on the registers.
Neighbours
Wiarton and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiarton | 9,799 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Georgian Bluffs | 12,061 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Wiarton in brief
Older stock first: 29% of homes in Wiarton were standing by 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Towns its size usually have more historic places; the middle one has 0.
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.
- The grade. This page gives no grade; history doesn’t count toward a Canadian town’s letter.
- 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 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.
- 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 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 Wiarton’s history
How many historic places does Wiarton have on the registers?
Nothing inside Wiarton; Donaldson Site in Port Elgin, 19 km away, is the nearest and of the highest rank.
How old are the homes in Wiarton?
Before 1961: 29% 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).