Photo: U.S. Coast Guard · Public domainHistory around Comox: 6 designated places within 50 km
Its housing is mostly newer: 9.1% predates 1961, where the typical town has 18%. Heritage of the first rank begins 34 km away, in Powell River.
Within 50 km of Comox, 3 top designations
They are 3 National Historic Sites, a provincial or municipal listing and a heritage railway station. The nearest is Courtenay River, 3.7 km away in Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley. By age, Powell River Townsite Historic District leads, from 1911, at 34 km.
The 6 nearest, within 50 km
| Courtenay RiverListed in a community heritage register · 3.7 km away, in Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley |
| Former Canadian Pacific Railway Station (VIA Rail), Courtenay, British ColumbiaHeritage Railway Station · 1914–1915 · 5.7 km away, in Courtenay |
| Powell River Townsite Historic DistrictNational Historic Site · 1911–1956 · 34 km away, in Powell River |
| Cape Mudge LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1916 · 40 km away, in Electoral Area C, Strathcona |
| Motor Vessel BCP 45National Historic Site · 1927–1928 · 41 km away, in Campbell River |
| McLean MillNational Historic Site · 1925–1966 · 42 km away, in Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot |
Around Comox, within 50 km, the dated heritage reaches back to 1911
Places as far as 50 km from Comox, not in it, dated by the first construction year on their records.
First by date comes Powell River Townsite Historic District in Powell River, from 1911. 5 places within 50 km have a date.
Comox’s building boom came from 1981 to 2000: 35% of its homes
From 2016 to 2021 Comox added 4.6% of its homes, close to the typical town’s 4.1%. Homes built from 2001 to 2015 make up 20% of Comox’s, against 15% in the typical town. More than half of Comox’s housing predates 2001.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Comox and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comox | 15,884 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Courtenay | 32,869 | 1 | 0 | 1914 |
| Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley | 7,830 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Cumberland | 4,974 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Electoral Area A, Comox Valley | 8,415 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley | 9,803 | 0 | 0 | — |
Comox in brief
Its oldest homes, those from before 1961, are 9.1% of the total, against 18% in the typical town. Beyond that, like most towns its size, it has no historic place.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Only Wikidata gives open access to listings on provincial and municipal registers outside Québec; without an article such a place is counted but not paged.
- Protection. Federal recognition isn’t a planning control: buildings the federal government owns follow its heritage policy, while others are protected only by a provincial or municipal designation.
- The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- 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.
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
Questions about Comox’s history
How many historic places does Comox have on the registers?
The registers have nothing inside Comox; Courtenay River, in Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley, is 3.7 km away.
How old are the homes in Comox?
Before 1961: 9.1% 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).