Christ the King Cathedral, Gaspé · Photo: abdallahh · CC BY 2.0
20historic places on the registers
History of Gaspé · Canada’s heritage registers
The registers list 20 historic places in Gaspé, 4 at the top
Among the places are 12 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings and 4 municipal citations. Only a few towns match Gaspé per resident: 13 for every 10,000, ahead of 99% of Canadian towns. The earliest construction date, 1850, belongs to Le Boutillier Manor.
There are photos here of 9 of Gaspé’s designated places. Of Gaspé’s most honoured places, 2 are photographed. You can start with “Christ the King Cathedral, Gaspé” and Cap-des-Rosiers 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.
Through time
Gaspé as it looked, 1866 to 1942
8 old photographs of the town, then the oldest view of one of its historic places, set out by date. Scroll the strip and tap a picture to open it.
1875190019251950Before ConfederationConfederation to 1900Boom yearsThe wars and betweenAfter the war
Public domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
How it began
Gaspé through its dates, from 1855
Its charter made Gaspé a village in 1855. In Wikidata’s entry, the municipality of Gaspé dates from December 9, 1873; that can mean a founding, a charter or a merger.
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designationsOther federal designationsProvincial and local listings
Dots open their places’ pages; hover first to read the name.
The 20, by tier
4 Highest designations12 Other federal designations4 Provincial and local listings
Federal designations come from Parks Canada; Québec’s own register adds what the province has classified and what the municipality has cited.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
4 places in Gaspé with the highest designation
Le Boutillier Manor is the earliest, from 1850; the latest dates from 1968. They are 2 National Historic Sites and 2 places classified by Québec. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
Classified heritage building (Québec) · 1881William-Wakeham House186 rue de la Reine
Other federal designations
Federal heritage in Gaspé: 12 more places
Hyman House and Store is the earliest, from 1864; the latest dates from 1949. Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Their designations span 1991 to 2001. Each one opens its own page.
Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1915–1917Daniel Gavey, HouseGrande-Grave
What’s designated
Gaspé’s largest group: houses, 45%
The runner-up group is mills, shops and works, 3 in all. Two of the highest-ranked are Le Boutillier Manor and Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse. By kind, the list runs to 6 groups.
Houses9
Mills, shops and works3
Stations, lighthouses and bridges3
Churches and religious buildings2
Theatres, museums and memorials1
Other places2
Grouped by what each register says the place is or was; a converted building counts as what it was built for.
Provincial and local listings
4 local listings in Gaspé
Designations came from 1998 to 2011. Citations the municipality has made, registered with Québec’s ministry of culture. Auberge Le Caribou is the earliest, from 1865; the latest dates from 1937. Each one opens its own page.
In Gaspé, the decades after Confederation left the most behind
Each place by the first construction date on its record.
British North America 1760–18667
After Confederation 1867–19138
Wars and Depression 1914–19453
Since 1946 1946 on2
Before 1867: 7 of the 20 with a date.
When designated
Since 1974, the list in Gaspé has grown
The places by the year of their designation.
2001 · 10
1960198020002020
The first was Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse, in 1974. The busiest year was 2001, with 10. Since 2011, 2 more have joined the list.
Homes by age
Gaspé keeps more old homes than most towns: 29% from before 1961, against 18%
Count back from today and half of Gaspé’s homes are older than 1981. Gaspé’s largest group of homes, 33%, went up from 1961 to 1980. From 2016 to 2021 Gaspé added 3.9% of its homes, close to the typical town’s 4.1%.
29%
Before 1961
33%
1961–80
20%
1981–2000
13%
2001–15
3.9%
2016–21
GaspéTypical 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
Born in Gaspé, 1767 to 1909
Most of them, 3 of 6, came into the world in the years before Confederation. Horace Gaul is the most written about, in 4 languages. The longest life was Roland English’s: 84 years, to 1993. 6 people on the record were born here before 1914.
Edward O'Hara
John Lemesurier
Xavier Kennedy
Horace Gaul
Henri Grenier
Roland English
175017751800182518501875190019251950
Horace Gaul1883–1939 · Canadian ice hockey player
RE
Roland English1909–1993 · Canadian politician
EO
Edward O'Hara1767–1833 · Canadian politician
John Lemesurier1826–1891 · Canadian politician
XK
Xavier Kennedy1851–1915 · Politician
HG
Henri Grenier1899–1980 · Priest, theologian and philosopher
Everyone born in Gaspé → 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
Gaspé has the most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 15,400 to 15,600 residents, by places on the registers.
Their median is 0. For 12, the registers list nothing.
In brief
Gaspé in brief
Gaspé has 29% of its homes from before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. The count is 20 historic places, 4 with the highest designation, with Le Boutillier Manor first. Among the 16 towns nearest its size, none has more historic places. Horace Gaul (1883), Roland English (1909) and Edward O'Hara (1767) are the best known of its historic lives.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Protection. A place classified or cited under Québec’s law is protected; National Historic Site status alone protects only what the federal government owns.
•
Québec’s register. In Québec the ministry of culture publishes its register openly: provincial classements, declared sites and the municipalities’ citations all appear, with their descriptions.
•
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.
•
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.
•
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.
•
Map points. Parks Canada publishes no coordinates, so federal places are pinned where Wikidata puts them.
•
The grade. This page gives no grade; history doesn’t count toward a Canadian town’s letter.
Questions about Gaspé’s history
Which places in Gaspé have the highest designation?
They are Le Boutillier Manor, Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse, William-Wakeham House and Christ the King Cathedral, Gaspé.
What is the oldest building in Gaspé?
Le Boutillier Manor (National Historic Site): the first construction date on its record is 1850.
How old are the homes in Gaspé?
Before 1961: 29% of its homes; the typical town has 18%.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada). Québec register data: Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, CC BY 4.0.
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec (MCC, Données Québec) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
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