TopNational Historic Site · 1858–1861Former Hamilton Customs House51 Stuart StreetPhoto: Robbie.dmo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Former Hamilton Customs House · Photo: Robbie.dmo · CC BY-SA 3.01historic place on the registers
History of Central · Canada’s heritage registers
Before 1961: 43% of the homes in Central
For Central, that is 2.5 times the typical town’s share, 18%. Its 1 historic place is of the highest rank. Measured against its size, 2.7 per 10,000 residents puts it ahead of 89% of Canadian towns. It is Former Hamilton Customs House, a national historic site begun in 1858.
Historic places
1
2.7 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1858
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
43%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where Central’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 1, by tier
1 Highest 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.
Highest designations
Central’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
Within 5 km of Central: 13 places on the registers
Its 10 places of national rank start with John Weir Foote Armoury, at 700 m. The record reaches back to 1813 with Burlington Heights, 1.2 km away. Nearest comes Christ's Church Cathedral, 600 m off, in Beasley.
The 12 nearest, within 5 km
| Christ's Church CathedralOntario Heritage Trust easement · 1873 · 600 m away, in Beasley |
| John Weir Foote ArmouryNational Historic Site · 1887–1889 · 700 m away, in Beasley |
| Former Hamilton Railway Station (Canadian National)National Historic Site · 1929–1932 · 800 m away, in Beasley |
| Dundurn CastleNational Historic Site · 1834–1836 · 1.1 km away, in Strathcona |
| McQuesten House / WhitehernNational Historic Site · 1848–1849 · 1.1 km away, in Durand |
| Victoria HallNational Historic Site · 1887–1889 · 1.1 km away, in Corktown |
| St. Paul's Presbyterian Church / Former St. Andrew's ChurchNational Historic Site · 1854–1858 · 1.1 km away, in Corktown |
| Burlington HeightsNational Historic Site · 1813–1814 · 1.2 km away, in Strathcona |
| Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Station, Former, Hamilton, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1931–1934 · 1.3 km away, in Corktown |
| Sandyford PlaceNational Historic Site · 1856–1857 · 1.4 km away, in Durand |
| HMCS HaidaNational Historic Site · 1942–1943 · 1.9 km away, in North End East |
| AuchmarOntario Heritage Trust easement · 1855 · 2.9 km away, in Centremount |
Homes by age
43% of Central’s homes were built before 1961
Count back from today and half of Central’s homes are older than 1981. Homes built from 2001 to 2015 make up just 6.5% of Central’s, against 15% in the typical town. Few of Central’s homes date from 1981 to 2000: 11%, the norm 23%.
43%
Before 1961
34%
1961–80
11%
1981–2000
6.5%
2001–15
3.8%
2016–21
CentralTypical 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
Central has the 2nd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 3,700 to 3,700 residents, by places on the registers.
Central1
Ahead of it: Saint-Sulpice. The typical town its size has 0. 12 of them have none.
Neighbours
Central and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | 3,698 | 1 | 1 | 1858 |
| Strathcona | 9,348 | 2 | 2 | 1813 |
| North End East | 4,816 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Durand | 13,338 | 2 | 2 | 1848 |
| Beasley | 6,338 | 3 | 2 | 1873 |
| Corktown | 8,952 | 3 | 2 | 1854 |
| Kirkendall North | 5,864 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Central in brief
Of the homes standing in Central, 43% went up before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. There are 1 historic place in all, one with the highest designation; Former Hamilton Customs House heads them. Of the 16 towns closest in size, just one has more historic places. For the rest, 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.
- Map points. Federal places get their map points from Wikidata, since Parks Canada’s files carry none; they are as mapped there.
- The grade. History isn’t one of Canada’s graded pillars, so this page describes and compares without a letter.
- 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.
- Protection. A National Historic Site designation recognises significance; it doesn’t by itself protect a building the federal government doesn’t own. Legal protection comes from provincial and municipal designations, whose own registers aren’t open data outside Québec.
- The tiers. National Historic Sites and the most protected buildings form the top tier; recognized federal buildings, stations and lighthouses the second; provincial and municipal listings the third.
- 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.
Questions about Central’s history
How old are the homes in Central?
43% of its homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical Canadian town.
Which places in Central have the highest designation?
Former Hamilton Customs House.
What is the oldest building in Central?
Former Hamilton Customs House (National Historic Site): the first construction date on its record is 1858.
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).