Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainO'Leary keeps its older homes: 43% from before 1961
The typical town has 18%: O'Leary has 2.4 times the share. O'Leary railway station, 1.5 km from O'Leary, heads a list of 6 historic places within 25 km. Look 15 km away, to Alberton, for the nearest place of the highest designation. The earliest of 3 people born in O'Leary before 1914 is Henry Pineau.
The heritage closest to O'Leary: O'Leary railway station, at 1.5 km
Within 25 km there are 6 in all. The oldest, “St. Brigid's Church, Prince Edward Island”, dates from 1873, 15 km away. Alberton Court House, 16 km off, is the one top-tier place.
The 6 nearest, within 25 km
| O'Leary railway stationDesignated heritage place · 1.5 km away, in O'Leary |
| Northport Rear Range LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1885 · 15 km away, in Alberton |
| St. Brigid's Church, Prince Edward IslandRegistered Heritage Place · 1873 · 15 km away, in Central Prince |
| Alberton Court HouseNational Historic Site · 1877–1879 · 16 km away, in Alberton |
| Alberton Railway StationDesignated heritage place · 16 km away, in Alberton |
| Holy Trinity Anglican ChurchRegistered Heritage Place · 1890 · 19 km away, in Alberton |
Just outside O'Leary: 1
| West Point LighthouseDesignated heritage place · 3.6 km outside the town |
Only 2.4% of O'Leary’s homes were built from 2016 to 2021 (4.1% is typical)
Half of the homes standing in O'Leary today were built before 1981. Few of O'Leary’s homes date from 2001 to 2015: 5.3%, the norm 15%. 25% of O'Leary’s homes were built from 1961 to 1980, close to the typical town’s 27%.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
3 lives that began in O'Leary before 1914
Sylvain Gallant reached 94, the longest life here, ending in 1960. The first on the line is Henry Pineau (1863). At the other end is John Watson MacNaught, from 1904. Fame, by Wikipedia: John Watson MacNaught first, in 4 languages.
Everyone born in O'Leary → 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 O'Leary compares with 16 towns its size
Towns of 2,900 to 2,900 residents, by places on the registers.
Only Harbour Grace has more. The middle one has 0. For 15, the registers list nothing.
O'Leary and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Leary | 2,878 | 0 | 0 | — |
| O'Leary | 1,021 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Alberton | 2,426 | 1 | 0 | 1890 |
| Alberton | 1,498 | 2 | 1 | 1877 |
| Central Prince | 1,287 | 0 | 0 | — |
O'Leary in brief
The 2021 Census dates 43% of O'Leary’s homes before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. The town’s people of the past are John Watson MacNaught (1904), Henry Pineau (1863) and Sylvain Gallant (1866). For its size the list is short: the typical town has 0 historic places.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- 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.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
Questions about O'Leary’s history
How many historic places does O'Leary have on the registers?
None within O'Leary itself; the nearest is 1.5 km off: O'Leary railway station, in O'Leary.
How old are the homes in O'Leary?
Before 1961: 43% of its homes; the typical town has 18%.
Why might a heritage building in O'Leary be missing here?
Its province’s and council’s own lists can’t be reused here; 13 further listings in O'Leary show up only as Wikidata numbers.
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).