MABR Parksville Arrowsmith Aerial Photography

Photo: Doug Wortley · CC BY-SA 4.0

0historic places on the registers

History of Parksville · Canada’s heritage registers

6 registered heritage sites stand within 50 km of Parksville

Before 1961: just 5.6% of the homes, where most towns have 18%. Heritage of the first rank begins 60 km away, in Powell River.

Historic places within 50 km

1 of the highest designation

Nearest historic place

9.6 km

Former Canadian Pacific Railway (VIA Rail) Station, Qualicum Beach, British Columbia

Homes built before 1961

5.6%

typical town: 18%

Around the town

One place of the highest rank within 50 km of Parksville

Closest of all is “Former Canadian Pacific Railway (VIA Rail) Station, Qualicum Beach, British Columbia”, in Qualicum Beach, 9.6 km off. Oldest of them is Bastion (1855), 33 km off. Among them are 2 heritage railway stations, 2 provincial or municipal listings and a heritage lighthouse.

The 6 nearest, within 50 km

Former Canadian Pacific Railway (VIA Rail) Station, Qualicum Beach, British ColumbiaHeritage Railway Station · 1914–1915 · 9.6 km away, in Qualicum Beach

Christian Science SocietyListed in a community heritage register · 1932 · 33 km away, in Nanaimo

Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Station, Nanaimo, British ColumbiaHeritage Railway Station · 1920–1921 · 33 km away, in Nanaimo

BastionHeritage designation · 1855 · 33 km away, in Nanaimo

Merry Island LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1966 · 34 km away, in Welcome Beach

McLean MillNational Historic Site · 1925–1966 · 37 km away, in Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot

How it began

1945 and after: Parksville’s milestones

In Wikidata’s entry, the municipality of Parksville dates from June 19, 1945; that can mean a founding, a charter or a merger. The municipality of Parksville was incorporated as a town in 1978.

How it began: Wikidata (CC0); dates read from English Wikipedia’s article “Parksville, British Columbia”, revision 1377356316 (CC BY-SA 4.0), and stated in our own words.

The age of the area

Most of what stands within 50 km of Parksville dates from the wars and the Depression

Places as far as 50 km from Parksville, not in it, dated by the first construction year on their records.

British North America 1760–18661

After Confederation 1867–19130

Wars and Depression 1914–19454

Since 1946 1946 on1

Dated places within 50 km: 6. One is older than 1867. The earliest is Bastion in Nanaimo, begun in 1855.

Homes by age

Parksville is still building: 11% of homes date from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%

Count back from today and half of Parksville’s homes are older than 2001. Parksville’s largest group of homes, 39%, went up from 1981 to 2000. Homes built from 2001 to 2015 make up 21% of Parksville’s, against 15% in the typical town.

5.6%

Before 1961

24%

1961–80

39%

1981–2000

21%

2001–15

11%

2016–21

ParksvilleTypical 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

How Parksville compares with 16 towns its size

Towns of 15,300 to 15,500 residents, by places on the registers.

Gaspé20

Parksville0

7 of them are ahead. The middle one has 0. 9 of them have none.

Neighbours

Parksville and its neighbours

Town	People	Places	Oldest
Parksville	15,371	0	—
Electoral Area G, Nanaimo	8,412	0	—
Qualicum Beach	9,640	2	1882
Electoral Area F, Nanaimo	8,810	0	—
Fairwinds	7,125	0	—
Lantzville	4,276	0	—

In brief

Parksville in brief

Few of its homes are old, 5.6% before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Most towns its size have more historic places: the typical one has 0.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

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 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.
Protection. National historic designation honours a place but binds only federal owners; a private building’s protection depends on its province or municipality.
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.
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.
The grade. This page gives no grade; history doesn’t count toward a Canadian town’s letter.

Questions about Parksville’s history

How many historic places does Parksville have on the registers?

None inside Parksville yet. The nearest is Former Canadian Pacific Railway (VIA Rail) Station, Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, 9.6 km away in Qualicum Beach.

How old are the homes in Parksville?

5.6% predate 1961, where 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).