TopNational Historic Site · 1896–1911Dawson Historical ComplexThird AvenuePhoto: Dawsonesque · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Robert Service Cabin · Photo: Douglas O'Brien from Canada · CC BY-SA 2.030historic places on the registers
History of Dawson · Canada’s heritage registers
Dawson: 30 historic places, 12 with the highest designation
The record has 18 Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings. Of the dated places, Dawson Historical Complex is the oldest, from 1896. Local registers add 2 more places, counted here but not paged: Wikidata holds their numbers and little else. The municipality’s date on Wikidata is 1896: a founding, an incorporation or an amalgamation, the record doesn’t say which.
Historic places
30
Highest designations
12
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Other federal designations
18
Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses
Oldest building
1896
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
20%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
20 pictures of Dawson today, 13 from its past
Leading off: Robert Service Cabin and Canadian Bank of Commerce. Photos show 20 of the places Dawson’s registers name; the others show their record instead. On their own pages, 3 of Dawson’s places show how they once looked.
Canadian Bank of Commerce
Commissioner's Residence
Old Territorial Administration Building
S.S. Keno
Dawson Historical Complex+15See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Through time
1895–1902: Dawson in old pictures
10 old photographs of the town, then the oldest views of 3 of its historic places, set out by date. Each dot on the line is a picture; tap one to open it full screen.
1895
c. 1898
c. 1898
c. 1898
c. 1898
c. 1898
c. 1899
c. 1899
1900
c. 1901
1901
1901
1897–1908Public domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
The map
Where Dawson’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designationsOther federal designations400 m from Commissioner's Residence
5 of 12within 400 m of Commissioner's Residence, the heart of the town’s history
Dots open their places’ pages; hover first to read the name.
The 30, by tier
12 Highest designations18 Other federal designations
The federal directory kept by Parks Canada supplies most of these places; provincial and municipal lists outside Québec aren’t open data, so only the ones Wikidata documents with an article appear.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there. One place, placed by its register’s municipality, has no point and isn’t on the map.
Highest designations
12 places in Dawson with the highest designation
Their designations span 1959 to 2009. The group holds 8 National Historic Sites and 4 Classified Federal Heritage Buildings. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
TopNational Historic Site · 1898–1899Yukon HotelFirst AvenuePhoto: Janothird · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
TopNational Historic Site · 1899–1902Old Territorial Administration Building595 Fifth Avenue (at Mission Street)Photo: Hans-Jürgen Hübner · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
TopNational Historic Site · 1900–1902Former Territorial Court HouseCorner of Front and Turner StreetsPhoto: Yukon Historic Sites · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
TopNational Historic Site · 1901–1902Canadian Bank of CommerceFront StreetPhoto: Douglas O'Brien from Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons file
TopNational Historic Site · 1902–1903St. Paul's Anglican Churchcorner of Church Street and First AvenuePhoto: 117Avenue · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Top
Top
TopClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1898–1900Robert Service CabinEighth / Hansen StreetPhoto: Douglas O'Brien from Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons file
TopClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1900–1901Post Office1091 Third AvenuePhoto: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
TopClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1901–1902Commissioner's Residence602 Front StreetPhoto: 117Avenue · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Classified Federal Heritage Building · 1962Palace Grand Theatre255 King Street
Other federal designations
18 other places Canada recognizes in Dawson
They were designated between 1987 and 1989. Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. The oldest, Lowe’s Mortuary, dates from 1898; the newest from 1903. Each one opens its own page.
All 18, A to Z
BYN Ticket OfficeBank of British North AmericaBlack Residence, No. 9Commanding Officer's Residence (10)Dawson Daily NewsHarrington’s Store (15)KTM BuildingLowe’s MortuaryMme. Tremblay’s Store (16)NWMP Married QuartersNorth West Mounted Police JailNorth West Mounted Police StablesNorthern Commercial Company WarehouseRuby's PlaceSt. Andrew's ManseSt. Andrew's Presbyterian ChurchThird Avenue Hotel, Building 14Winaut's Store
What’s designated
Dawson’s largest group: mills, shops and works, 30%
Next come public buildings: 6. The top of the list holds Dawson Historical Complex and Yukon Hotel. By kind, the list runs to 7 groups.
Mills, shops and works9
Public buildings6
Houses4
Churches and religious buildings4
Theatres, museums and memorials2
Stations, lighthouses and bridges1
Other places4
The groups come from each place’s name and its recorded functions, by what it was built as.
How old
In Dawson, the decades after Confederation left the most behind
Each place by the first construction date on its record.
British North America 1760–18660
After Confederation 1867–191327
Wars and Depression 1914–19451
Since 1946 1946 on1
When designated
Most of Dawson’s designations came in 1989
The places by the year of their designation.
1989 · 17
19401960198020002020
It began with Dawson Historical Complex in 1959. The busiest year was 1989, with 17. Nothing has been added since 2011.
Homes by age
Dawson is still building: 12% of homes date from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
Dawson’s largest group of homes, 28%, went up from 1981 to 2000. Few of Dawson’s homes date from 1961 to 1980: 16%, the norm 27%. 23% of Dawson’s homes were built from 2001 to 2015, more than the typical town’s 15%.
20%
Before 1961
16%
1961–80
28%
1981–2000
23%
2001–15
12%
2016–21
DawsonTypical 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 people born in Dawson before 1914
Fame, by Wikipedia: Victor Jory first, in 22 languages. Robert MacArthur Crawford comes first, born in 1899. The most recent birth is John D. Ferry’s, in 1912. John D. Ferry lived longest, to 90, dying in 2002.
Robert MacArthur Crawford
Victor Jory
John D. Ferry
18501875190019251950
VJ
Victor Jory1902–1982 · Canadian actor
JF
John D. Ferry1912–2002 · Canadian-American chemist and biochemist
RC
Robert MacArthur Crawford1899–1961 · American songwriter
Everyone born in Dawson → Born before 1914 (the page’s periods: Confederation to the First World War). Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s Wikipedia article.
In brief
Dawson in brief
Dawson has 20% of its homes from before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. Together that makes 30 historic places, 12 with the highest designation, led by Dawson Historical Complex. Around Commissioner's Residence, 5 of the places of the highest designation lie within 400 m.
Dates cluster in the decades after Confederation: 27 of 29. The town’s people of the past are Victor Jory (1902), John D. Ferry (1912) and Robert MacArthur Crawford (1899). Of 30 designations, 17 came in 1989.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- People and events. National historic persons carry no place in the open file. They appear on a town’s page when born there (same name, same birth and death years) or when a historic place inside it carries their name and its record names them with their dates; national historic events don’t appear.
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- The federal register. The federal list is complete and open: Parks Canada’s directory for the designations, the Canadian Register of Historic Places for what each one is and why it matters.
- 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.
- Map points. Parks Canada publishes no coordinates, so federal places are pinned where Wikidata puts them.
- Protection. National historic designation honours a place but binds only federal owners; a private building’s protection depends on its province or municipality.
Questions about Dawson’s history
Which places in Dawson have the highest designation?
These: Dawson Historical Complex, Yukon Hotel, Old Territorial Administration Building, Former Territorial Court House, Canadian Bank of Commerce and St. Paul's Anglican Church, and 6 more.
What is the oldest building in Dawson?
Dawson Historical Complex (National Historic Site): the first construction date on its record is 1896.
Why might a heritage building in Dawson be missing here?
Provincial and municipal registers outside Québec aren’t open data. Wikidata knows 2 more listings in Dawson, but without an open description or an encyclopedia article they get no page.
How old are the homes in Dawson?
20% predate 1961, where the typical town has 18%.
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).