TopNational Historic Site · 1878–1879Trinity Anglican Church97 Queen StreetPhoto: Fralambert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Trinity Anglican Church · Photo: Fralambert · CC BY-SA 4.01historic place on the registers
History of Digby · Canada’s heritage registers
44% of Digby’s homes were built before 1961
For Digby, that is 2.5 times the typical town’s share, 18%. Inside the town there is 1 historic place, a top designation. It is Trinity Anglican Church, a national historic site begun in 1878. Wikidata’s date for the municipality is 1783; it may record a founding, an incorporation or an amalgamation.
Historic places
1
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1878
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
44%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where Digby’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations
Each dot is a place: point at it for the name, tap it for its page.
The 1, by tier
1 Highest designations
Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations lists the places the Government of Canada has recognized; outside Québec, provincial and municipal listings come only through Wikidata, and only those with an encyclopedia article get a page.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
Digby’s top designation
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
Around the town
10 places of the highest rank within 25 km of Digby
The nearest is Bear River Lighthouse, 6.2 km away in Digby. Melanson Settlement, 17 km off, is the oldest: 1600. By designation: 8 National Historic Sites, 6 provincial or municipal listings and 4 heritage lighthouses.
The 12 nearest, within 25 km
| Bear River LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1905–1906 · 6.2 km away, in Digby |
| Victoria Beach LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1901 · 6.3 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
| Prim Point LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1964 · 8.2 km away, in Digby |
| Schafner Point LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1885 · 15 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
| Port-RoyalNational Historic Site · 1939–1940 · 16 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
| Melanson SettlementNational Historic Site · 1600 · 17 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
| North Hills MuseumProvincially Registered Property · 23 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
| Charles FortNational Historic Site · 1629–1630 · 24 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
| South Powder MagazineClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1708–1710 · 24 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
| Fort AnneNational Historic Site · 1629–1800 · 24 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
| Black Hole Powder MagazineRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1790–1791 · 24 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
| Officers' QuartersClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1797–1799 · 24 km away, in Annapolis County, Subdivision A |
Homes by age
44% of Digby’s homes were built before 1961
Over half of the homes in Digby were already standing by 1981. Digby built little from 1981 to 2000: 14% of its homes, where most towns have 23%. Homes built from 2001 to 2015 make up just 10% of Digby’s, against 15% in the typical town.
44%
Before 1961
28%
1961–80
14%
1981–2000
10%
2001–15
3.9%
2016–21
DigbyTypical 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
3 Digby births on record from before 1914
At the other end is Herbert D. Burns, from 1878. In 1832 came the earliest, Finnemore E. Morton. Of them all, Herbert D. Burns lived longest: 82 years, until 1960. By Wikipedia’s reach, Pop Smith leads, with 5 articles.
Finnemore E. Morton
Pop Smith
Herbert D. Burns
1800182518501875190019251950
PS
Pop Smith1856–1927 · Major League Baseball player
FM
Finnemore E. Morton1832–1899 · Canadian politician
HB
Herbert D. Burns1878–1960 · Canadian banker
Everyone born in Digby → Born before 1914 (the page’s periods: Confederation to the First World War). Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s Wikipedia article.
Neighbours
Digby and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digby | 2,153 | 1 | 1 | 1878 |
| Digby | 7,528 | 3 | 0 | 1905 |
In brief
Digby in brief
Counted by age, 44% of Digby’s homes predate 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Together that makes 1 historic place, one with the highest designation, led by Trinity Anglican Church. Pop Smith (1856), Finnemore E. Morton (1832) and Herbert D. Burns (1878) are the town’s people of the past on the record. The rest is about typical: its designation dates from 1990.
How to read these numbers
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.
- 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. Three tiers: the top for National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements, a second for the other federal designations, a third for provincial and municipal listings.
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- 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.
- 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.
- Map points. Pins for federal places come from Wikidata rather than Parks Canada, which gives no points.
Questions about Digby’s history
How old are the homes in Digby?
The 2021 Census dates 44% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical town).
Which places in Digby have the highest designation?
Just one: Trinity Anglican Church.
What is the oldest building in Digby?
Trinity Anglican Church, a National Historic Site, begun in 1878.
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).