TopNational Historic Site · 1748–1759Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst191 Haché Gallant DrivePhoto: MTLskyline · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst · Photo: MTLskyline · CC BY-SA 3.03historic places on the registers
History of West River · Canada’s heritage registers
Back to 1748 in West River, with Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst
All told the heritage lists hold 3 historic places within West River, and 2 sit in the top tier. Scaled to its population the record is long: 7.2 per 10,000 residents, more than 97% of Canadian towns. The record has a heritage lighthouse. There are also 9 listings on provincial or municipal registers with no open description, so no pages.
Historic places
3
7.2 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
2
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Other federal designations
1
Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses
Oldest building
1748
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
18%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
Look around West River: 2 photos
Photos show 2 of the places West River’s registers name; the others show their record instead. One of West River’s top-tier places is pictured. You can start with Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst and Blockhouse Point Lighthouse.
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 West River’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designationsOther federal designations
Dots open their places’ pages; hover first to read the name.
The 3, by tier
2 Highest designations1 Other federal 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
West River’s 2 top designations
Designations came from 1958 to 1997. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst is the earliest, from 1748; the latest dates from 1861. Each one opens its own page.
National Historic Site · 1861–1869Strathgartney HomesteadTrans Canada Highway 1
Other federal designations
Federal heritage in West River: one more place
Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Each one opens its own page.
FedHeritage Lighthouse · 1876–1877Blockhouse Point LighthousePhoto: DanBhentschel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Homes by age
A growing town: 8.2% of West River’s homes went up from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
More than half of West River’s housing predates 2001. West River’s largest group of homes, 30%, went up from 1981 to 2000. Before 1961: 18% of West River’s homes, near the usual 18%.
18%
Before 1961
25%
1961–80
30%
1981–2000
19%
2001–15
8.2%
2016–21
West RiverTypical 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 people born in West River before 1914
The oldest birth on the record is Walter Russell Shaw’s, in 1887. By Wikipedia’s reach, Walter Russell Shaw leads, with 4 articles. At 95, Florence Elsie Inman outlived the rest, dying in 1986. Grace Crosby Hamman closes the list, born in 1899.
Walter Russell Shaw
Florence Elsie Inman
Grace Crosby Hamman
18501875190019251950
Walter Russell Shaw1887–1981 · Canadian politician
Florence Elsie Inman1891–1986 · Canadian politician
GH
Grace Crosby Hamman1899–1983 · American researcher
Everyone born in West River → 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
West River has the 1st most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 4,100 to 4,200 residents, by places on the registers.
West River3
Their median is 0. For 14, the registers list nothing.
Neighbours
West River and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West River | 4,155 | 3 | 2 | 1748 |
| Cornwall | 7,920 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Kingston | 1,308 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Charlottetown | 48,118 | 14 | 11 | 1820 |
| Stratford | 13,152 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Miltonvale Park | 1,279 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Crapaud, Part 1 | 1,781 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
West River in brief
In West River, 18% of homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. There are 3 historic places in all, 2 with the highest designation. No town its size has more historic places: it leads the 16 nearest in population. The town’s people of the past are Walter Russell Shaw (1887), Florence Elsie Inman (1891) and Grace Crosby Hamman (1899). Otherwise the figures are ordinary: the designations ran from 1958 to 2024.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 tiers. Three tiers: the top for National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements, a second for the other federal designations, a third for provincial and municipal listings.
- Map points. Pins for federal places come from Wikidata rather than Parks Canada, which gives no points.
- 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 grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about West River’s history
What is the oldest building in West River?
By its record, Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst, from 1748 (National Historic Site).
Which places in West River have the highest designation?
Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst and Strathgartney Homestead.
Why might a heritage building in West River be missing here?
Only federal designations are fully open outside Québec. 9 more listings in West River are known through Wikidata alone, so they are counted, not paged.
How old are the homes in West River?
Before 1961: 18% 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).