FedHeritage Lighthouse · 1845Point Prim LighthousePoint Prim RoadPhoto: freestock.ca · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Wood Islands Lighthouse · Photo: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada · CC BY 2.02historic places on the registers
History of Belfast · Canada’s heritage registers
Before 1961: 42% of the homes in Belfast
For Belfast, that is 2.4 times the typical town’s share, 18%. Federal, provincial and local lists together give 2 historic places here. Go back to 1845 and you reach Point Prim Lighthouse, the oldest of them. Counted by designation, there are a heritage lighthouse and a provincial or municipal listing.
Historic places
2
Highest designations
0
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Other federal designations
1
Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses
Provincial and local listings
1
provincial and municipal listings with an encyclopedia article
Oldest building
1845
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
42%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
Heritage Belfast through 2 photographs
Leading off: Wood Islands Lighthouse and Point Prim Lighthouse. Photos show both of the places Belfast’s registers name.
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 Belfast’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Other federal designationsProvincial and local listings
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 2, by tier
1 Other federal designations1 Provincial and local listings
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.
Other federal designations
One more federal designation in Belfast
Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Each one opens its own page.
Provincial and local listings
On a provincial or local list in Belfast: one place
Provincial and municipal listings that Wikidata records and an encyclopedia describes. Each one opens its own page.
LocalDesignated heritage place · 1876Wood Islands LighthousePhoto: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada · CC BY 2.0 · Commons file
Around the town
27 historic places within 50 km of Belfast
Of 17 top designations nearby, Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst is the closest, at 25 km. Blockhouse Point Lighthouse in West River is the nearest, 24 km away. Among them are 17 National Historic Sites, 6 heritage lighthouses and 3 provincial or municipal listings.
The 12 nearest, within 50 km
| Blockhouse Point LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1876–1877 · 24 km away, in West River |
| Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort AmherstNational Historic Site · 1748–1759 · 25 km away, in West River |
| Dundas TerraceNational Historic Site · 1889–1890 · 26 km away, in Charlottetown |
| Great George Street Historic DistrictNational Historic Site · 1864 · 27 km away, in Charlottetown |
| St. Dunstan's Roman Catholic BasilicaNational Historic Site · 1896–1908 · 27 km away, in Charlottetown |
| Province HouseNational Historic Site · 1839–1848 · 27 km away, in Charlottetown |
| Apothecaries HallNational Historic Site · 1900–1901 · 27 km away, in Charlottetown |
| Charlottetown City HallNational Historic Site · 1888–1889 · 27 km away, in Charlottetown |
| Government HouseNational Historic Site · 1833–1835 · 27 km away, in Charlottetown |
| All Souls ChapelNational Historic Site · 1888–1889 · 27 km away, in Charlottetown |
| FairholmNational Historic Site · 1839–1840 · 27 km away, in Charlottetown |
| Victoria ParkHeritage resource · 1873 · 27 km away, in Charlottetown |
Homes by age
New homes are rare in Belfast: 2.2% from 2016–21, against a usual 4.1%
Count back from today and half of Belfast’s homes are older than 1981. Building from 1961 to 1980 gave Belfast 23% of its homes, near the usual 27%. In Belfast, 20% of homes date from 1981 to 2000, much as in most towns (23%).
42%
Before 1961
23%
1961–80
20%
1981–2000
12%
2001–15
2.2%
2016–21
BelfastTypical 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
From 1854 to 1885: lives that began in Belfast
Best known is Cyrus Macmillan, with articles in 6 Wikipedia languages. The record holds 5 people born here before 1914. Most of them, 3 of 5, came into the world in the decades after Confederation. Angus Alexander McLean lived longest, to 89, dying in 1943.
Angus Alexander McLean
Joseph Thomas Roche
John Duncan MacLean
Cyrus Macmillan
James Larabee
18501875190019251950
CM
Cyrus Macmillan1882–1953 · Canadian academic, writer, and politician
JM
John Duncan MacLean1873–1948 · Canadian politician
AM
Angus Alexander McLean1854–1943 · Canadian politician
JL
James Larabee1885–1954 · Canadian politician
JR
Joseph Thomas Roche1865–2000 · Canadian clergyman
Everyone born in Belfast → 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
Belfast and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | 2,110 | 2 | 0 | 1845 |
| Vernon River | 2,779 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Belfast in brief
Counted by age, 42% of Belfast’s homes predate 1961, against 18% in the typical town. The lists come to 2 historic places. Its people of the past include Cyrus Macmillan (1882), John Duncan MacLean (1873) and Angus Alexander McLean (1854). The other figures are unremarkable: its one place was designated in 2015.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Map points. Parks Canada publishes no coordinates, so federal places are pinned where Wikidata puts them.
- People and events. The open directory puts its national historic persons nowhere, so a town shows one only on firm ground: a birth there, matched by name and life years, or a historic place there named for the person whose record says so. Events 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. Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations lists every National Historic Site, federal heritage building, heritage railway station and lighthouse; the Canadian Register of Historic Places adds their statements in English and French.
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- 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 Belfast’s history
How old are the homes in Belfast?
The 2021 Census dates 42% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical town).
How many historic places does Belfast have on the registers?
2 historic places in Belfast, from Canada’s heritage registers.
What is the oldest building in Belfast?
Point Prim Lighthouse (Heritage Lighthouse): the first construction date on its record is 1845.
Why might a heritage building in Belfast be missing here?
Provincial and municipal registers outside Québec aren’t open data. Wikidata knows 10 more listings in Belfast, 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).