Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Around Witless Bay, 38 historic places within 50 km
Heritage of the first rank begins 31 km from Witless Bay, in St. John's. 2 further listings on provincial or municipal registers are known only through Wikidata, so they have no page of their own.
7.5 km from Witless Bay: Tower, the nearest on the registers
They are 24 National Historic Sites, 11 provincial or municipal listings and 2 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings. Colony of Avalon, 29 km off, is the nearest of 25 top-tier places. The registers hold 38 within 50 km.
The 12 nearest, within 50 km
| TowerRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1908–1909 · 7.5 km away, in Bay Bulls |
| Petty Harbour Generating StationProvincial or municipal listing · 22 km away, in Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove |
| Admiralty House Museum & ArchivesCity of Mount Pearl heritage site · 1914 · 25 km away, in Mount Pearl |
| Colony of AvalonNational Historic Site · 1627 · 29 km away, in Division No. 1, Subdivision U |
| Cape Spear LighthouseNational Historic Site · 1835–1836 · 31 km away, in St. John's |
| St. Patrick's Roman Catholic ChurchNational Historic Site · 1864–1882 · 31 km away, in St. John's |
| Former Newfoundland Railway HeadquartersNational Historic Site · 1901–1904 · 32 km away, in St. John's |
| George Street United ChurchCity of St. John's heritage site · 32 km away, in St. John's |
| Water Street Historic DistrictNational Historic Site · 1847–1917 · 32 km away, in St. John's |
| St. John's Court HouseNational Historic Site · 1900–1905 · 33 km away, in St. John's |
| St. John the Baptist Anglican CathedralNational Historic Site · 1847–1851 · 33 km away, in St. John's |
| Fort TownshendNational Historic Site · 1773–1780 · 33 km away, in St. John's |
The places within 50 km of Witless Bay lean to the years before Confederation
Reaching 50 km out from Witless Bay: the historic places by their first construction date on record.
The earliest is Colony of Avalon in Division No. 1, Subdivision U, begun in 1627. 30 places within 50 km carry a construction date. 20 go back before 1867.
Witless Bay’s homes are mostly newer: 12% predate 1961, where most towns have 18%
More than half of Witless Bay’s housing predates 2001. 45% of Witless Bay’s homes were built from 2001 to 2015, more than the typical town’s 15%. Homes built from 1961 to 1980 make up just 16% of Witless Bay’s, against 27% in the typical town.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Witless Bay and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witless Bay | 1,833 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Bay Bulls | 1,699 | 1 | 0 | 1908 |
| Division No. 1, Subdivision U | 1,522 | 0 | 0 | — |
Witless Bay in brief
Before 1961: just 12% of its homes, against 18% in the typical town.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The grade. This page gives no grade; history doesn’t count toward a Canadian town’s letter.
- 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.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Outside Québec, provinces’ and municipalities’ heritage registers aren’t open data; their places are known only through Wikidata items with a register number, and only those with an encyclopedia article get a page.
- 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.
- Protection. Being on these registers doesn’t mean a building can’t change. Federal designation commemorates; protection is provincial or municipal, and those lists aren’t open here.
- 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.
Questions about Witless Bay’s history
How many historic places does Witless Bay have on the registers?
None inside Witless Bay yet. The nearest is Tower, 7.5 km away in Bay Bulls.
How old are the homes in Witless Bay?
12% of its homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical Canadian town.
Why might a heritage building in Witless Bay be missing here?
Only federal designations are fully open outside Québec. 2 more listings in Witless Bay are known through Wikidata alone, so they are counted, not paged.
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).