Nelson has 2.6 times what the typical town has (18%). Inside the town the registers count 1 historic place. Relative to its size the figure is 0.8 per 10,000 residents, more than in 78% of Canadian towns. It is Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Nelson, British Columbia, a heritage railway station begun in 1900.
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
Old Nelson, 1905 to 1930
Oldest first: 3 old photographs of the town and the oldest view of one of its historic places. Swipe along the strip; each picture opens at full size.
1890190019101920193019401950Confederation 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
The making of Nelson, from 1889
The founding of Nelson came in 1889. That was 137 years ago. Its oldest recorded station, Nelson railway station, dates from 1900.
The date Wikidata keeps for Nelson is 1897; whether it was a founding or a legal act, the entry leaves open.
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Other federal designations
Each dot is a place: point at it for the name, tap it for its page.
The 1, by tier
1 Other federal designations
What the map shows is the open record: the federal directory in full, and from provincial or municipal lists only the places Wikidata ties to an encyclopedia article.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Other federal designations
One other place Canada recognizes in Nelson
Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Each one opens its own page.
Near Nelson, within 100 km: 6 places of national rank
At 32 km, Doukhobor Suspension Bridge in Castlegar is the closest. The oldest, Kaslo Municipal Hall, dates from 1898, 54 km away. Between them, 6 towns share them, mainly Kaslo, Rossland and Castlegar.
Few of Nelson’s homes date from 1981 to 2000: 16%, the norm 23%. Nelson built little from 2001 to 2015: 11% of its homes, where most towns have 15%. Homes built from 2016 to 2021 are 4.4% of Nelson’s, about the typical 4.1%.
46%
Before 1961
23%
1961–80
16%
1981–2000
11%
2001–15
4.4%
2016–21
NelsonTypical 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 Nelson before the First World War: 6 lives
The first on the line is Edward Applewhaite (1898). At the other end is Elinor Black, from 1905. 3 Wikipedias cover Edward Applewhaite, the most of anyone here. Longest lived was Syd Desireau, 84 years in all (1982).
Edward Applewhaite
Syd Desireau
Jack Wright
James E. Gill
Beatrice Lennie
Elinor Black
18501875190019251950
EA
Edward Applewhaite1898–1964 · Canadian politician
JG
James E. Gill1901–1980 · Canadian scientist, teacher, explorer and mine developer
BL
Beatrice Lennie1905–1987 · Canadian sculptor
JW
Jack Wright1901–1949 · Canadian tennis player
SD
Syd Desireau1898–1982 · Canadian ice hockey player
EB
Elinor Black1905–1982 · Canadian obstetrician and gynaecologist and first Canadian woman to b…
Everyone born in Nelson → 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
Nelson has the 3rd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 12,000 to 12,200 residents, by places on the registers.
The 2021 Census dates 46% of Nelson’s homes before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. All told, the registers hold 1 historic place. Only 2 of the 16 towns nearest its size have more historic places. Its people of the past include Edward Applewhaite (1898), James E. Gill (1901) and Beatrice Lennie (1905). Beyond that, its one place was designated in 1992.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The grade. This page gives no grade; history doesn’t count toward a Canadian town’s letter.
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Provincial and municipal lists. Provincial and municipal listings here come from Wikidata alone, since the provinces’ own registers can’t be reused; a listing needs an encyclopedia article to get a page.
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Map points. Pins for federal places come from Wikidata rather than Parks Canada, which gives no points.
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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.
Questions about Nelson’s history
How old are the homes in Nelson?
Before 1961: 46% of its homes; the typical town has 18%.
How many historic places does Nelson have on the registers?
The registers list 1 historic place inside Nelson.
What is the oldest building in Nelson?
Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Nelson, British Columbia (Heritage Railway Station): the first construction date on its record is 1900.
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.
c. 1905
c. 1910
c. 1930
Fed