TopNational Historic Site · 1450–1551Southwold Earthworks7930 Iona RoadPhoto: Deconstructhis · Public domain · Commons file
Southwold Earthworks · Photo: Deconstructhis · Public domain1historic place on the registers
History of Southwold · Canada’s heritage registers
History in Southwold goes back to 1450: Southwold Earthworks
The typical town has 18% of its homes from before 1961; Southwold has 41%. Its 1 historic place is of the highest rank. That is 1.8 for every 10,000 people, a higher rate than 85% of Canadian towns.
Historic places
1
1.8 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1450
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
41%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where Southwold’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
Most entries are federal, from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations; local listings outside Québec are known only through Wikidata items with an article.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
The highest rank in Southwold: one place
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
Around the town
The highest designation, 2 times, within 25 km of Southwold
They are 2 National Historic Sites, a provincial or municipal listing and a heritage railway station. All told, 5 places are within 25 km. Nearest comes Old St. Thomas Church, 10 km off, in St. Thomas.
The 5 nearest, within 25 km
| Old St. Thomas ChurchOntario Heritage Trust easement · 1824 · 10 km away, in St. Thomas |
| St. Thomas City HallNational Historic Site · 1898–1900 · 11 km away, in St. Thomas |
| Former Canada Southern Railway Station, St. Thomas, OntarioHeritage Railway Station · 1871–1874 · 12 km away, in St. Thomas |
| Port StanleyNational Historic Site · 1669–1670 · 12 km away, in Central Elgin |
| Port Stanley Breakwater LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1911 · 13 km away, in Central Elgin |
Homes by age
Southwold is still building: 8.5% of homes date from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
More than half of Southwold’s housing predates 1981. Southwold built little from 1961 to 1980: 16% of its homes, where most towns have 27%. Homes built from 1981 to 2000 make up 20% of Southwold’s, about the typical 23%.
41%
Before 1961
16%
1961–80
20%
1981–2000
14%
2001–15
8.5%
2016–21
SouthwoldTypical 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
With John Kenneth Galbraith, 5 more from Southwold’s years before 1914
Of the 6, 3 were born in the years before Confederation. The record holds 6 people born here before 1914. John Kenneth Galbraith lived longest, to 98, dying in 2006. James Craig Watson comes first, born in 1838.
James Craig Watson
Dugald McColl
John Giles Lethbridge
Ann Shipley
Colin Campbell
John Kenneth Galbraith
1800182518501875190019251950
John Kenneth Galbraith1908–2006 · Canadian-American economist and diplomat
James Craig Watson1838–1880 · American astronomer
Colin Campbell1901–1978 · Canadian politician and general
AS
Ann Shipley1899–1981 · Canadian politician
DM
Dugald McColl1846–1915 · Canadian politician
JL
John Giles Lethbridge1855–1947 · Canadian politician
Everyone born in Southwold → Born before 1914 (the page’s periods: Confederation to the First World War). Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s Wikipedia article.
Towns its size
Southwold has the 3rd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 5,400 to 5,500 residents, by places on the registers.
Southwold1
Only Cookshire-Eaton and New Glasgow have more. The middle one has 0. 11 of them have none.
Neighbours
Southwold and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwold | 5,473 | 1 | 1 | 1450 |
| Oneida 41 | 1,565 | 0 | 0 | — |
| St. Thomas | 49,388 | 4 | 1 | 1824 |
| Central Elgin | 15,230 | 1 | 1 | 1669 |
| Dutton | 4,686 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Lambeth | 2,609 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Southwold in brief
The 2021 Census dates 41% of Southwold’s homes before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. All told, the registers hold 1 historic place, one with the highest designation, Southwold Earthworks among them. Just 2 towns of its size, out of 16, have more historic places. Its people of the past include John Kenneth Galbraith (1908), James Craig Watson (1838) and Colin Campbell (1901). Everything else is close to the norm: its one place was designated in 1923.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The federal register. Federal places come from Parks Canada’s directory, which counts National Historic Sites, federal heritage buildings, stations and lighthouses; their statements are the register’s own.
- 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.
- Protection. National historic designation honours a place but binds only federal owners; a private building’s protection depends on its province or municipality.
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- People and events. Persons of national historic significance come with no location; a town gets one only by birthplace (name and both life years agreeing) or by one of its own places that bears the name and whose record tells the story. Events, which can’t be tied, are left out.
- 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.
- Map points. Pins for federal places come from Wikidata rather than Parks Canada, which gives no points.
Questions about Southwold’s history
What is the oldest building in Southwold?
By its record, Southwold Earthworks, from 1450 (National Historic Site).
How old are the homes in Southwold?
Before 1961: 41% of its homes; the typical town has 18%.
Which places in Southwold have the highest designation?
Just one: Southwold Earthworks.
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).