Panoramic view of pine forest, Pontiac, Québec

Photo: Edwin Lester Brittain · CC BY-SA 4.0

2historic places on the registers

History of Pontiac · Canada’s heritage registers

Canada’s registers list 2 historic places in Pontiac

For its size Pontiac is rich ground: 3.1 per 10,000 residents, ahead of 90% of Canadian towns. Of the dated places, Herridge Chalet is the oldest, from 1880. Among the places are 2 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings.

1880oldest building

Historic places

3.1 per 10,000 residents

Highest designations

National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements

Other federal designations

Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses

Oldest building

1880

the first construction date on its record

Homes built before 1961

24%

typical town: 18%

How it began

Pontiac on record since 1975

For the municipality of Pontiac itself, Wikidata records January 1, 1975, a date that can be a founding as much as a merger. A reorganization in 1975 folded in 4 former municipalities.

How it began: Wikidata (CC0).

The map

Where Pontiac’s history is

Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.

Other federal designations

Dots open their places’ pages; hover first to read the name.

The 2, by tier

2 Other federal designations

Parks Canada’s federal directory and Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel supply these places: federal designations, the province’s classements and the municipalities’ citations.

Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.

Other federal designations

2 other places Canada recognizes in Pontiac

Designations came from 1986 to 2007. Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Herridge Chalet is the earliest, from 1880; the latest dates from 1925. Each one opens its own page.

Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1880–1881Herridge Chalet

Recognized Federal Heritage Building · 1925–1926Prime Minister's Cottage

Around the town

45 places of national importance within 25 km of Pontiac

Count to 25 km and there are 159. The oldest, Saint James cemetery, dates from 1820, 22 km away. They are spread over 17 towns, including Des Explorateurs, Centretown and Les Golfs.

The 12 nearest, within 25 km

Maison Bolton-McGrathMunicipal citation (Québec) · 1842 · 10 km away, in Des Explorateurs

First Geodetic Survey StationNational Historic Site · 1905–1906 · 10 km away, in Chelsea

Main HouseClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1907–1908 · 11 km away, in Chelsea

Garage and Caretaker's QuartersClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1907–1908 · 11 km away, in Chelsea

ChapelClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1907–1908 · 11 km away, in Chelsea

Wood ShedClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1907–1908 · 11 km away, in Chelsea

Stable and Carriage HouseClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1907–1908 · 11 km away, in Chelsea

O'Brien HouseRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1930–1931 · 11 km away, in Chelsea

Moorside, Main HouseRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1928–1929 · 12 km away, in Du Plateau

Kingswood, Kingswood CottageRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1903–1904 · 12 km away, in Chelsea

Moorside, Tool ShedRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1928–1929 · 12 km away, in Du Plateau

Moorside, ForgeRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1933–1934 · 12 km away, in Du Plateau

Homes by age

Old houses stand out in Pontiac: 24% predate 1961, where most towns have 18%

More than half of Pontiac’s housing predates 2001. The busiest building years in Pontiac were from 1961 to 1980, which account for 26% of today’s homes. Homes built from 2001 to 2015 make up 21% of Pontiac’s, against 15% in the typical town.

24%

Before 1961

26%

1961–80

25%

1981–2000

21%

2001–15

2016–21

PontiacTypical 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

Pontiac has the 3rd most of 16 towns its size

Towns of 6,500 to 6,500 residents, by places on the registers.

Kings County, Subdivision D4

Mont-Joli3

Pontiac2

Glencoe1

St. Paul County No. 191

Antigonish County, Subdivision B0

Only Kings County, Subdivision D and Mont-Joli have more. Their median is 0. For 11, the registers list nothing.

Neighbours

Pontiac and its neighbours

Town	People	Places	Highest	Oldest
Pontiac	6,490	2	0	1880
Dunrobin	5,724	0	0	—
Fitzroy	6,400	0	0	—
Chelsea	8,998	12	6	1835
Des Explorateurs	31,128	33	1	1831
Brookside - Briarbrook - Morgans Grant	15,509	0	0	—
Carp	5,621	1	1	1959

In brief

Pontiac in brief

In Pontiac, 24% of homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. All told, the registers hold 2 historic places. Just 2 towns of its size, out of 16, have more historic places. The other figures are unremarkable: one person of its past, Hib Milks (1899); and the designations ran from 1986 to 2007.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

Map points. Where a federal place sits on the map is Wikidata’s placing; the directory itself has no coordinates.
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.
Québec’s register. Québec is the one province whose register is open: classements, declarations and municipal citations, described by the ministry in French.
The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
Protection. In Québec, a classement or a municipal citation under the Loi sur le patrimoine culturel protects the building in law; a federal designation recognises significance and binds only federal owners.
The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.

Questions about Pontiac’s history

How many historic places does Pontiac have on the registers?

Inside Pontiac: 2 historic places.

What is the oldest building in Pontiac?

By its record, Herridge Chalet, from 1880 (Recognized Federal Heritage Building).

How old are the homes in Pontiac?

Before 1961: 24% 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).