Photo: Tabercil · CC BY 3.0Before 1961: 38% of the homes in Durham
Durham’s share is 2.1 times the typical 18%. The registers count 50 places within 100 km of Durham; the closest, Billy Bishop Boyhood Home, is 44 km away. The closest top-tier heritage is in Owen Sound, 45 km from here. Of the 9 people born in Durham before 1914, Robert James Ball came first.
Most of what stands within 100 km of Durham dates from the decades after Confederation
Out to 100 km from Durham, outside the town: each place by when its record says building began.
46 dated places within 100 km make up the record. 18 go back before 1867. Oldest of all: Fort Sainte Marie II, Tiny, 1649.
Top-ranked heritage near Durham: 23 places within 100 km
The registers hold 50 within 100 km. Fort Sainte Marie II, 90 km off, is the oldest: 1649. Among them are 19 National Historic Sites, 15 provincial or municipal listings and 7 heritage railway stations.
The 12 nearest, within 100 km
| Billy Bishop Boyhood HomeNational Historic Site · 1884–1885 · 44 km away, in Owen Sound |
| Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Owen Sound, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1946–1948 · 45 km away, in Owen Sound |
| Donaldson SiteNational Historic Site · 55 km away, in Port Elgin |
| McNab Point LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1877–1878 · 55 km away, in Port Elgin |
| Saugeen River Rear Range LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1903–1904 · 55 km away, in Port Elgin |
| Saugeen River Front Range LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1903–1904 · 56 km away, in Port Elgin |
| TowerClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1855–1860 · 57 km away, in Port Elgin |
| ClaverleighNational Historic Site · 1871–1872 · 61 km away, in Stayner |
| Collingwood Downtown Heritage Conservation DistrictHeritage conservation district · 61 km away, in Collingwood |
| LighttowerClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1857–1859 · 61 km away, in Collingwood |
| Federal BuildingClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1913–1916 · 61 km away, in Collingwood |
| Former Elora Drill ShedNational Historic Site · 1865–1866 · 64 km away, in Fergus |
38% of Durham’s homes were built before 1961
Durham built little from 1961 to 1980: 22% of its homes, where most towns have 27%. From 2016 on, Durham built 4.8% of its homes, near the typical 4.1%. Count back from today and half of Durham’s homes are older than 1981.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
A national historic person among Durham’s people of the past
Most of them, 8 of 9, came into the world in the decades after Confederation. The most recent birth is Clare Bice’s, in 1909. Fame, by Wikipedia: John Diefenbaker first, in 51 languages. Robert James Ball comes first, born in 1857.
Everyone born in Durham → Born before 1914. Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against Wikipedia; national historic persons from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, matched by name and life years.
How Durham compares with 16 towns its size
Towns of 14,200 to 14,500 residents, by places on the registers.
Only South Glengarry, Bourg-Royal and Vieux-Limoilou have more. The middle one has 0. 13 of them have none.
Durham and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | 14,355 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Hanover | 8,723 | 0 | 0 | — |
Durham in brief
Counted by age, 38% of Durham’s homes predate 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Its people of the past include John Diefenbaker (1895), Robert James Ball (1857) and Vern Pettigrew (1908). Towns its size usually have more historic places; the middle one has 0.
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.
- 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 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.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
Questions about Durham’s history
How many historic places does Durham have on the registers?
None in Durham itself. The closest is Billy Bishop Boyhood Home in Owen Sound, 44 km away, a place of the highest rank.
How old are the homes in Durham?
The 2021 Census dates 38% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical town).
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).