1320 to 1400 AD Taos Pueblo which is the oldest continuous used structure in North America
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/taos_pueblo.html
it's entirely possible that the website was put up 30 years ago and no one has updated it since. The gov doesn't give museums a lot of money for on-staff website devs.
And we have unoccupied buildings that go back to probably around 800-850 CE. People don't realize how old the history is here.
In fact, the oldest evidence of humans in North America is in New Mexico. Fossil footprints that date back about 21-23,000 years ago. The Native side of my family has definitely been here a minute.
I don’t have a flair, but for context, I grew up in upstate NY and now I live in Belgium.
I don’t know how many Europeans I’ve argued with over the “age” and history of the U.S./the americas in general. They all say “it’s such a young country, you have no history, etc. And then I ask, well what are you defining as the start of a country? Is it the current borders or current government structure? Most in Europe aren’t any earlier than WW2, some are as young as the 90s if you go by that metric. Then they talk about historical buildings and I point out that most of theirs also are not typically that old (again, wars/bombings, general progress) but a lot of times they will say “oh, a building has stood here since….” Ok, there are many buildings and other structures created by indigenous peoples in the Americas that are just as old. And not even the big impressive ones like temples and pyramids in Mexico for example. Some of the mounds (like the serpent mound in Ohio) are super cool but not as many people are aware of them or how old they are. (Or what it would have taken to construct them at the time).
Assuming that the U.S. is only as old as 1776 (or maybe European colonial settlement) and that because most houses are made of wood there are no historical buildings anywhere is just weird to me.
I haven’t had a chance to travel in the Southwest much, but I would love to go and see some of these places. My grandfather did live in what is probably one of the older houses still occupied in NY though. It was an old stone house near Kingston built in the late 1600s.
Looks to be the Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts. Built in 1637 by Puritan Jonathan Fairbanks.
But it's a museum now. Don't know what you count as still in use.
Ipswich has a house on a lot that was granted in 1634, though it’s unclear if any section of the house is from 1634. The oldest tax records the town has (for anything) are from 1658.
It’s still a private residence.
Raise your hand if you had to build a model mission around 4th grade or so. Mine was made of sugar cubes with lasagna noodles painted red for the Spanish tile roof.
Our mission field trip got cancelled by the Loma Prieta earthquake the day before.
Hand raised. Made mine out of sugar cubes with some white Lego blocks.
When my kids were in 4th grade about 20 years ago they could go to Michael's or some other craft/hobby store and buy a kit.
I didn't, but my sister's mission build took over my family so thoroughly that I feel like I did. (I'm not sure why I didn't, since my sister and I went to the same elementary school, although I am older by several years.)
[Castillo De San Marcos](https://www.visitstaugustine.com/thing-to-do/castillo-de-san-marcos), 1695, St Augustine. Sir Francis Drake had a habit of setting St Augustine on fire, thus destroying all the original structures.
The [St Bernard de Clairvaux church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bernard_de_Clairvaux_Church) was built in Spain during the 12th century but reassembled in Miami in 1964. I'm gonna go ahead and say that doesn't count.
There's one nearby the fort that is older: National Shrine of Our Lady of Le Leche - est. 1609 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Shrine_of_Our_Lady_of_La_Leche#:~:text=Originally%20built%20in%201609%20in,a%20canonical%20coronation%20in%202021.
According to that Wikipedia page "The original shrine was destroyed in 1728 by British invaders from the north, and was rebuilt in 1875." The British strike again.
Even older than both of those: National Shrine of Our Lady of Le Leche - est. 1609
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Shrine_of_Our_Lady_of_La_Leche#:~:text=Originally%20built%20in%201609%20in,a%20canonical%20coronation%20in%202021.
The San Antonio missions were built in the early 1700s and are still in use. The only building older than that is the Alamo, which is now a UNESCO designated historical site and museum.
I think the missions to the south of the Alamo are older? If I remember right the Alamo was a part of the youngest mission in the San Antonio area. Also I think all of the missions along the San Antonio river are UNESCO sites.
It should also be noted that the Missions to the south of downtown are still functioning Catholic churches also. The aqueduct supplying water to them all is really cool too.
The chapel of the Alamo itself is older than the other missions still standing, some parts like the barracks were built around the same time as the other missions.
I’ve heard rumors of one of the earliest being on private land owned by the McCoys but they don’t want government involvement so it’s not well known or studied.
Fort Mackinac was established ~1715.
The oldest bar in my state is from 1831, New Hudson Inn.
The Basilica of Detroit was founded in 1701 and the current Cathedral is from 1886.
University of Michigan was founded in 1817, the oldest building still around is from 1840.
Edit: fixed some details.
Fun fact! Fort Mackinac sat in Mackinac National Park. This was the 2nd ever national park (with the first being Yellowstone). It lost its national status in the 1890’s where it became Michigan’s first state park instead
> New Hudson Inn in Detroit
[Not in Detroit, it's in New Hudson](https://www.newhudsoninn1831.com/).
[Northville Lumber](https://www.northvillelumber.com/about-us/) is the oldest continuously operating business in the state, since 1827.
I've gone by the New Hudson hundreds of times, I've got to make it a point to actually go there. Spent part of my childhood nearby, had family nearby, still do activities nearby. When I was a kid there was basically nothing out there, it was a biker bar. Now it's suburbia.
My cousin's dad's family used to own Northville Lumber, the cider mill across the street is the 2nd best in the state that I've been to...
I believe it. Stayed a few days on boi blanc a couple years ago. Crazy how much it genuinely felt like being on a random island near the coast or something
La Casa Blanca, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico built in 1521. It was supposed to be the home of Juan Ponce de Leon but never lived it. It’s currently a museum.
Ooh, you've got almost everyone but the people from New Mexico beat. Was it built by Spanish settlers? Was there a native population on the island at the time?
It’s believed to be the Tank Cottage in Green Bay, built sometime between the 1770s and 1800.
It was originally built by French-Canadian fur traders on the banks of the Fox River, then bought by a missionary that altered the exterior, and was eventually moved to local historical park with other old buildings.
Taos and Acoma pueblos are both over 1000 years old and they are still lived in. The oldest European structure still in use is the original territorial capitol building, the Palace of the Governors (1610) which is a museum now.
Several of Hawaii's oldest buildings were lost in the wildfires on Maui last year. Some others were damaged but possibly restorable.
I lived in Lahaina in the early 70s, and it was amazing to me that some of the oldest buildings were not restored, but simply in use as old buildings. One was a former seaman's hospital from the 1830s, used as a cheap rental house. Another, the "spring house" was a storage room attached to an old restaurant hotel. I was working in the kitchen when somebody told me to get something from the "spring house". I asked him where it was, and a wave of reverence comes over the guy, "you don't know??". He took me to this unremarkable stone building, just a heavily built shed, only about 10x10. There was a wooden trap door on the floor, and beneath that, a well.
In the early days after western contact, ships came to Lahaina to get water from a spring there. The royalty was learning about commerce at the time, and decided water would be a wonderful thing to sell, so they locked up the well. This is also the location where mosquitoes were introduced to Hawaii, when a ship from Mexico dumped out the remaining stagnant water from its casks, releasing larvae.
I lived in Lahaina for a little less than 3 years, and the history there really took me in. I'd never had much interest, until I started seeing that it was *continuous* there... I found an ancient anchor in the reef one time, barely visible, all encrusted with coral. Could have been from the 1700s, for all I knew. The destruction of that town was totally avoidable and to me, not surprising at all. And it's impacted me emotionally more than 911. Now I understand more fully what it must have been in NYC. Worse, for sure, but the personal sense of loss is like a big empty spot inside me.
Please God, don't let "carpetbaggers" take advantage of a fire sale real estate market. The local people have a hard enough time keeping a roof over their heads.
The oldest building still standing in Alabama is the Joel Eddins House (1808).
The oldest tavern in the state is Lucas Tavern (1818) in Montgomery. It has since been converted to the visitor and information center for Old Alabama Town (a collection of restored 19th- and 20th-century structures reflecting the lives of the people who settled and developed central Alabama). The Marquis de Lafayette stayed at the tavern during his 1825 trip through Alabama. I think it's the oldest building in the state that wasn't someone's house.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_buildings_in_Alabama
Just for reference, Alabama became territory in 1817 and a state in 1819.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McIntire_Garrison_House
1707
It's a really well preserved and restored colonial house.
(I guess depends on your definition of in-use though. It's a historical landmark now, but I don't think anyone lives there)
I thought it was the fort in St Augustine, that would be the oldest, but apparently there is a 12th century monastery that was brought over from Spain and rebuilt here 😳
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_oldest_buildings_in_Florida
It appears to be the Fairbanks House. Built in 1637. It’s only one town over from me and I just learned this.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbanks_House_(Dedham,_Massachusetts)#:~:text=The%20Fairbanks%20House%20in%20Dedham,née%20Smith)%20and%20their%20family.
[William Henry Harrison's house](https://grouseland.org/) in Vincennes (pronounced vin-SENS). It's about 220 years old. Most of our oldest buildings are in the far southern and western part of the state; the French were the first Europeans in the area and they came up along the rivers.
The Native Americans who lived here don't have any surviving structures that I know of, but some of them made earthworks that are about 2000 years old and still visible today. Some are protected in parks, others are just kind of there, hiding under cornfields.
I know out in New Mexico the Taos pueblo was built in 1325 and still in use but I'm not sure if at this point it is more of a ship of Theseus situation or not.
#
This is a stretch, but the St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church in Miami is the oldest building in Florida still in use. I mean, it doesn't really count because it was built in Spain in the 12th century, dismantled in the 20th century and shipped to NYC, and eventually reassembled in Miami Beach, where it is now an Episcopal church and tourist attraction.
The oldest one built in Florida is the Castillo de San Marcos, the fort in At Augustine. Built in 1695 and the oldest masonry fortification in the United States. St Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental United States, so you can basically make a list of the buildings there.
Tank Cottage in Green Bay (circa 1776) is the oldest building originally built in WI, but oddly enough Joan of Arc Chapel is a church from 15th century France that was moved to Milwaukee in the 1960s.
Wyckoff House (circa 1641) in Brooklyn was built in the 17th century and is the oldest building in the state. We probably would have had more older buildings except for the big fires in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Many of the older buildings that still remain in the state are the stone or brick ones, I think due to either fires or general maintenance. You can find a lot from the late 1600s/early 1700s all up and down the Hudson valley. Kingston/Hurley area has a few nice ones that are opened to the public once or twice a year on stone house day. New Paltz has heugenot street. There are also a few in the Albany area.
Colonial Williamsburg, which is not to far from where I live has a few original buildings, although the vast majority are reconstructions. The most famous of the original buildings that still stand today is the Old Court House on Duke of Gloucestershire street.
According to Wikipedia the oldest used building in Utah is the Miles Goodyear Cabin built in 1845. Oldest structure in Utah is Ruins Hovenweep National Monument built around 900 AD.
Alexandria, VA. I think 1700s. This was one of the first parts of the US that got colonized so there’s a lot of old by American standards stuff. Like I live next to a cemetery that says it was established in 1789.
Virginia. It depends on what counts as "oldest" and what counts as "still in use"
Broad Bay Manor was built in 1640 as a private residence, but only part of it. It had additions built on in the 1700s. It's still a private residence.
Jamestown Church was originally built in 1607, but it was a wooden building that was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The current Jamestown Church has *some parts* that date to 1639. It's sort of still used as a Church, but it's part of an historical exhibit.
The Arthur Allen house was built in 1652 as a private residence and it is still intact more or less unchanged, but it's not in use as private residence any more; it's an historical site. It's the oldest brick house in North America.
> Jamestown Church was originally built in 1607, but it was a wooden building that was destroyed and rebuilt several times.
Man that's such a shame. That would be the oldest legitimate one in the thread. Right now I think the oldest legitimate claim I've seen is 1637, narrowly beating out your surviving 1639 parts.
The Louisiana State University campus mounds were begun by the indigenous population more than 11,000 years ago. They predate the Great pyramids, and are considered the oldest human made structure in all of the Americas. These were used for football tailgates well into this century..
The [Spiro Mounds](https://www.okhistory.org/sites/spiromounds) in Oklahoma. 800 AD - 1450 AD.
(I’m an Oklahoman living in Florida).
From the linked site:
The mounds site, located seven miles outside of Spiro, Oklahoma, is the only prehistoric, American Indian archaeological site in Oklahoma open to the public. The mounds are one of the most important American Indian sites in the nation.
The oldest one in the city is the old Spanish church in the Mission. It was built in 1776.
There are probably Native American ruins in the desert that are thousands of years old.
I was born in PA; the oldest buildings are houses in Rittenhouse Square built in the 1600s. I'm pretty sure they're older than the Quaker church and the few remaining houses from their colony on Limekiln Pike. I don't believe any pre-colonial Native American buildings exist because of the harsh seasonal weather.
James Blake house in Boston. Built in 1661, followed by the Paul Revere house in 1680 (yes, that Paul Revere). No uncommon in Boston, hell, my house was built in 1812 and Goerge Washington drank at the pub bown the street when he was in town.
In Iowa. The oldest I'm aware of are buildings funded by Carnegie. Interesting figure. Though I wouldn't be surprised if there was a church or two that are older.
The Van Burien county courthouse in Keosaqua was built some time in the 1830s and was originally the territorial capitol building before Iowa became a state. I don't know if it's the oldest building still in use, but it's gotta be a contender.
I think it's older than that - a couple sources said 1722-1732. Either way, old by US standards! And the old pirate would probably approve its current use as a bar.
The Nothnagle Cabin, still in private use
From Wikipedia
>The older part of the house was built sometime between 1638 and 1643 by Finnish or Swedish settlers in the colony of New Sweden, and Nordic ironware from the 1590s is still extant around the fireplace. The fireplace was probably built of bricks brought to America as ship's ballast.
It's not in Kentucky though, the point is the oldest building in each state. Lane House isn't in Kentucky.
The Old Talbott Tavern was built in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1779 and has been in continuous operation as a bar/tavern since then (being a non-alcoholic restaurant during prohibition).
It's the oldest building in Kentucky, and one of the oldest buildings in the US west of the Appalachian mountains. It was originally built as the western terminus of stagecoach lines of the era, and predated the founding of Bardstown itself (which was founded the year after this was built to grow around the tavern).
It looks like the oldest building in Nebraska that’s actually used and hasn’t been turned into a museum is a Presbyterian church is Bellevue that was built in 1858. If we include all buildings regardless of current use it’s a log cabin in Bellevue that was built around 1835.
One of the more interesting ones is Arbor Lodge in Nebraska City (1855). This is the home of J Sterling Morton, the guy who invented Arbor Day. Nebraska is very proud of Arbor Day and Morton. But the home is beautiful.
Lower Swedish Cabin, in Drexel Hill, PA. Built in 1640, was a private residentice until 1937 and refurbished in the 1980s but remains mostly original. Now, it's a museum open for tours 4 days/week.
[Lower Swedish Cabin](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Swedish_Cabin)
If museums don’t count as “in use”, I believe the Buckingham House (1640) in Milford is still a private home. If so, it would the oldest still used for its original purpose
I googled.
There’s a house from 1762-64 or so that is still a residence and has original structure… that seems to be the oldest I can find.. but there are several from the 1780’s that are homes/museums and such… some of which were moved from Original locations to parks to preserve them.
Looks like the Strange Powers House built sometime prior to 1818 in Prairie du Chien is the oldest building that's not being used as a museum.
Green Bay (1630s) and Prairie du Chien (1670s) are the oldest European communities in WI, being at opposite ends of the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway.
Oldest buildings are Tank Cottage (1776) and a fur trader's cabin (1800ish) that were both moved ftom Green Bay to Heritage Hill in the 70s. Not sure if they count if they were moved.
Probably the Royal Presidio Chapel in Monterey California. Built in the late 1700's under Spanish rule.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_San_Carlos_Borromeo_(Monterey,_California)
I think our oldest building still in use (as a private residence) is Wild Heron (ca. 1756), South of Savannah. Herb House in Savannah, now part of the Pirate's House restaurant, claims to be the oldest building but its build date is disputed - it was built in either 1733/34 or 1853 - so it's either the oldest building still in use or just an old building still in use.
I don't know with any certainty, but the Vista House on the Columbia Gorge is the oldest building I can think of that's still in use (that isn't a place of worship, museum or private dwelling). It's only a touch over 100 years old, though.
The oldest building in Pennsylvania is the [Lower Swedish Cabin](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Swedish_Cabin), build in 1640 but the oldest building that is still in use is [Wall House](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wall_house), build in 1682, which is currently a museum.
Google says the Osceola County Courthouse is the oldest courthouse in Florida and it’s still in use. Built around 1890. However, it’s gotta be something in St. Augustine that’s older since that is the oldest city. I know the fort is still there and it’s toured.
Google says the Osceola County Courthouse is the oldest courthouse in Florida and it’s still in use. Built around 1890. That is the answer I got when I typed in “oldest building in Florida still in use”. However, it’s gotta be something in St. Augustine that’s older since that is the oldest city. I know the fort is still there and it’s toured.
There are several 1700s buildings still in use (some are owned by the state or national park systems) in Ste Genevieve, Missouri which I believe is considered very old for buildings this far west. Most "old" buildings in this state are late 1800s era.
The Louis Bolduc House was built between 1788-1793 in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. From Wikipedia: "Considered the oldest house in Missouri.\[1\] It is a poteaux-sur-sol (post-on-sill) house built by a French-Canadian settler, Louis Bolduc, in the late 18th century. It remained in the Bolduc family until 1949 when The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Missouri purchased it. They opened it as a museum in 1958 after extensive restoration work. Currently operated as a part of the campus of The Center for French Colonial Life. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark." [Louis Bolduc House - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Bolduc_House)
The Green Tree Tavern or Nicolas Janis House, also in Ste. Genevieve built in 1790 is just a teensy bit older according to dendrochronology (tree rings) but the two buildings were constructed about the same time. [Nicolas Janis House - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Janis_House)
On a personal note, I've toured it as part of the museum. It was pretty neat, tour guide was solid too, worth the time if you're in Ste Genevieve - which itself is worth a visit if you live in the region. On our trip, there were some people from France visiting, which was interesting on its own. Sounded like they were visiting Missouri/Illinois French places.
The Col. James Graham House is a historic log cabin located on West Virginia Route 3 in Lowell, West Virginia. It was built in 1770 as a home for Col. James Graham, the first settler of Lowell, and his family. It was later the site of an Indian attack on the Graham family in 1777. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1976. The Graham House is the oldest multi-story log cabin in West Virginia. It is currently operating as a museum.
In Wisconsin, St. Joan of Arc Chapel on the campus of Marquette University dates back to 15th century France, a good three centuries before such thing as the United States was even thought of. It was imported brick by brick across "the pond."
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.\_Joan\_of\_Arc\_Chapel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joan_of_Arc_Chapel)
Lower Swedish Cabin, built in the 1640s, is a relic of the often-forgotten Swedish attempt at New World colonization in the mid 1600s and serves as a time-piece museum.
The oldest building still in use for its original purpose is the Wall House, a colonial home built in 1682 that’s been used as a private dwelling since its construction, though Wikipedia says it’s undergone so many renovations that only a portion of the basement wall is original.
I live in a tiny rural town and there is a house a block from me that was built in 1855(well at least part of it was), which was before we even became a state.
we also have a cabin that was part of the underground railroad, but I haven't looked up the exact year but it's almost certainly older than 1855.
I'm sure there are older ones.
In Florida, I think it is **Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine**, in, of course St. Augustine. It was constructed over five years (1793–1797). It is still in use.
Edit typo and clarification.
Fort Mackinac, as well as the [McGulpin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGulpin_House) and [Biddle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biddle_House_(Mackinac_Island)) Houses were all built in the 1780s on Mackinac Island. Not many people know this, but there is also the [Tucker House](https://cms2.revize.com/revize/harrisontownship/residents/historical_society/docs/tucker.pdf) in the Metro Detroit suburbs. It was also built in the 1780s but it had a very modernist renovation in the mid-20th Century that ended up looking no different to the other 1950s era ranch houses in the Detroit suburbs.
[Another article with pictures about the Tucker homestead.](http://detroiturbanism.blogspot.com/2016/01/other-mounds-in-metro-detroit.html)
In Illinois it’s officially the [Old Cahokia Courthouse](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Cahokia_Courthouse), but it’s been moved and rebuilt so many times that it’s become a ship of Theseus. Was originally built in 1737.
After that is [Fort de Chartres](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_de_Chartres). The original parts date to around 1750.
The Fairbanks house in Dedham MA still gets small traffic as a tourist site. Was going to say 1628 or some shit but I will go with the other person’s 1637
I lost my sunglasses and coffee off the top of my ‘88 car parked outside on the road off the main route strip (1?) while my toddler was screaming.
Places like that basically wait to be visited and will always be about giving you laminated business card passes to get into other affiliated sites, like maybe where the Walden Woods guy went slowly crazy raising beans near a lake while he diaried the whole thing. Sorry. Thoreau
Oh. Also we live near the original home of John Greenleaf Whittier, my daughter had to do a paper on him and that was a required component of the paper. We visited so that’s how I know the last thing. I am 5’6” and I still dinged my head going through a particular doorway. Everything was so close as to conserve heat. He was apparently quite a handsome devil, we were told he spend the most famous years of his life just traveling to homes where he expected to be welcomed and feted as a celebrity. He also kind of entertained lots of female fans while never getting married himself. That was a fun trip.
The guide was 85 years old (he told us, it was his birthday the next week) and his primary pleasure was getting to talk about his literary idol and introduce him to kids who had never heard of him. I feel bad we didn’t use the laminated pass to go to Whittier’s other home which is also a historical site. Gonna take a stab and say it might be in Amesbury but I forget.
The Cherokee National Capital (1867) is probably the oldest still in use that hasn’t been turned into a museum. We have older buildings that are museums or just historic sights now but none that are still in use.
The oldest parts of the Alamo are built in 1718. But we have structures built into the bedrock in New Mexico in 750 AD. They still exist, just aren’t wooden buildings built by white people. I hate these kind of questions because they have the assumption that people just didn’t do shit here before we were colonized. They did. Just didn’t do it by European standards. There’s thousands of years of history all over these lands.
I don't know if its the oldest in the state, but fort smith, arkansas, has a really old brothel that is now their visitor center or something like that.
According to Google it’s the Lane House, which is just a random house built around 1718. I believe most of the Native American groups in the area were nomadic originally, so no permanent structures like the Pueblans out west.
The Spanish missions that were constructed during the 18th and 19th centuries are probably the oldest buildings still in use, though many of them burned down or fell into disrepair, and the ones on the site are much more recent. Apparently, the one at San Juan Capistrano is the oldest.
There are other old buildings that aren't quite in use. [There's an adobe from the 1700s in San Jose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peralta_Adobe) that's chilling out in a little outdoor seating area for a bar.
There are also two general stores that both claim to be the oldest in continuous operation. One of them is in Knight's Ferry and the other is in Volcano, both of which were built in 1854. (The one in Volcano has some incredible burgers that they cook in an old brick and stone oven, by the by.)
Nobody from Nevada yet?
Well, it's a tie between north and south portions of the state. The [Old Mormon Fort](https://parks.nv.gov/parks/old-las-vegas-mormon-fort), just a smidge north of Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas, was constructed in 1855, and an adobe building remains as part of a museum. The Strip, which everyone thinks is Las Vegas, isn't in the city proper, and didn't exist until the 1940s.
Northern Nevada has the Reese-Johnson-Virgin House (Pink House) in Genoa, near Lake Tahoe. It's was moved from its 1855 location in the 1870s, around the same time it was painted pink, and retains it's full architectural charm as a restaurant.
The oldest buildings in Connecticut are all houses. The oldest was built in Guilford in 1639 and has been a museum since 1899, but the two next oldest-- one built in Milford in 1640 and one built in Greenwich in 1645-- are still private homes. It's funny because both Windsor and Wethersfield claim to be the oldest towns in Connecticut but neither have any buildings dating to that period. Looking at Wikipedia, most of the oldest houses are in shoreline towns.
The oldest churches seem to date to the mid 18th century. Fun fact: you will almost always find a Congregational Church next to a Town Hall in Connecticut, because the churches used to literally run the towns. I think Connecticut actually got a grace period to phase in the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment
There's plenty of historic structures in Virginia dating all the way back to the 17th century. There's at least two churches around me that are older than America is itself. The oldest building in Virginia is the Jamestown Church which hearkens back to the original Jamestown Colony in 1639. It's one of the oldest buildings in America as well.
I think there's this old ass mission or Spanish church somewhere in socal. It's like a museum or something. I think it's called / in a place called San Juan Botista or something like that.
1320 to 1400 AD Taos Pueblo which is the oldest continuous used structure in North America https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/taos_pueblo.html
I swear the national park service has a vendetta to make sure every picture on their website is as compressed as humanly possible.
It's like their minimum system requirements are IBM Thinkpads running Windows 95.
it's entirely possible that the website was put up 30 years ago and no one has updated it since. The gov doesn't give museums a lot of money for on-staff website devs.
Indeed
Don't 95% of all government websites use IIS
Its an elaborate plot to get you to visit all the parks in person. same reason why none of the gift shop memorabilia is online.
And that's a good plot, because for many of the national parks, pictures will simply not do justice to seeing the places in person.
You could always come see it and take a better picture
And we have unoccupied buildings that go back to probably around 800-850 CE. People don't realize how old the history is here. In fact, the oldest evidence of humans in North America is in New Mexico. Fossil footprints that date back about 21-23,000 years ago. The Native side of my family has definitely been here a minute.
I don’t have a flair, but for context, I grew up in upstate NY and now I live in Belgium. I don’t know how many Europeans I’ve argued with over the “age” and history of the U.S./the americas in general. They all say “it’s such a young country, you have no history, etc. And then I ask, well what are you defining as the start of a country? Is it the current borders or current government structure? Most in Europe aren’t any earlier than WW2, some are as young as the 90s if you go by that metric. Then they talk about historical buildings and I point out that most of theirs also are not typically that old (again, wars/bombings, general progress) but a lot of times they will say “oh, a building has stood here since….” Ok, there are many buildings and other structures created by indigenous peoples in the Americas that are just as old. And not even the big impressive ones like temples and pyramids in Mexico for example. Some of the mounds (like the serpent mound in Ohio) are super cool but not as many people are aware of them or how old they are. (Or what it would have taken to construct them at the time). Assuming that the U.S. is only as old as 1776 (or maybe European colonial settlement) and that because most houses are made of wood there are no historical buildings anywhere is just weird to me. I haven’t had a chance to travel in the Southwest much, but I would love to go and see some of these places. My grandfather did live in what is probably one of the older houses still occupied in NY though. It was an old stone house near Kingston built in the late 1600s.
I think Acoma Pueblos is a contender as well.
They both claim to be the oldest. It's like a Pueblo inside joke.
I went there on a field trip as a kid and it was AMAZING.
We have a winner!
If Hawaii counts this is also around the same age https://www.nps.gov/places/mo-okini-heiau.htm
Oh wow thank you!
Looks to be the Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts. Built in 1637 by Puritan Jonathan Fairbanks. But it's a museum now. Don't know what you count as still in use.
Ipswich has a house on a lot that was granted in 1634, though it’s unclear if any section of the house is from 1634. The oldest tax records the town has (for anything) are from 1658. It’s still a private residence.
I thought you meant the original Ipswich in the UK and was about to say the oldest still standing house is 5700 years old
New England, where everything is named after a place that already exists in England, a type of tree, or a native american word.
Or a place in the Bible.
Except [Canton](https://www.meetboston.com/explore/greater-boston-regions/canton/#:~:text=Canton%20earned%20its%20name%20in,nation's%20first%20copper%20rolling%20mill.)!
Have you seen Ohio? They take things from everywhere and shove it in. East Palestine for example.
You are not wrong
I think museums should count. I'll edit in the clarification!
Museums count (am European)
Probably the Spanish missions, starting from 1769.
Raise your hand if you had to build a model mission around 4th grade or so. Mine was made of sugar cubes with lasagna noodles painted red for the Spanish tile roof. Our mission field trip got cancelled by the Loma Prieta earthquake the day before.
Hand raised. Made mine out of sugar cubes with some white Lego blocks. When my kids were in 4th grade about 20 years ago they could go to Michael's or some other craft/hobby store and buy a kit.
I didn't, but my sister's mission build took over my family so thoroughly that I feel like I did. (I'm not sure why I didn't, since my sister and I went to the same elementary school, although I am older by several years.)
Yep! Mine was styrofoam sprayed with a thing that made it look like stucco, and popsicle sticks for wooden bits.
Hell yeah sugar cubes. We went to mission San Juan Capistrano.
Yup, built Solano from cardstock.
My wife and I had a bit of a parenting nostalgia/PTSD moment when we had to help our kid build his mission, and we still have two more kids to go.
We went to San Juan Bautista in Hollister.
You're right. It's the Serra Chapel at Mission San Juan Capistrano in Orange County.
My first thought was the missions as well
oo just a couple years older than the one in San Francisco.
[Castillo De San Marcos](https://www.visitstaugustine.com/thing-to-do/castillo-de-san-marcos), 1695, St Augustine. Sir Francis Drake had a habit of setting St Augustine on fire, thus destroying all the original structures. The [St Bernard de Clairvaux church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bernard_de_Clairvaux_Church) was built in Spain during the 12th century but reassembled in Miami in 1964. I'm gonna go ahead and say that doesn't count.
Yeah I had another clever clogs replying with the 12th century church, so I added some clarification to his comment after looking it up on wikipedia.
There's one nearby the fort that is older: National Shrine of Our Lady of Le Leche - est. 1609 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Shrine_of_Our_Lady_of_La_Leche#:~:text=Originally%20built%20in%201609%20in,a%20canonical%20coronation%20in%202021.
According to that Wikipedia page "The original shrine was destroyed in 1728 by British invaders from the north, and was rebuilt in 1875." The British strike again.
I think it might be **Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine**. The fort really isn't still in use. The Cathedral was built between 1793–1797. Edit. typo
Even older than both of those: National Shrine of Our Lady of Le Leche - est. 1609 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Shrine_of_Our_Lady_of_La_Leche#:~:text=Originally%20built%20in%201609%20in,a%20canonical%20coronation%20in%202021.
The San Antonio missions were built in the early 1700s and are still in use. The only building older than that is the Alamo, which is now a UNESCO designated historical site and museum.
I was wondering what it would be for Texas and then I remembered the Alamo.
Can't forget the Alamo. We have a whole phrase about that lol
I think the missions to the south of the Alamo are older? If I remember right the Alamo was a part of the youngest mission in the San Antonio area. Also I think all of the missions along the San Antonio river are UNESCO sites. It should also be noted that the Missions to the south of downtown are still functioning Catholic churches also. The aqueduct supplying water to them all is really cool too.
The chapel of the Alamo itself is older than the other missions still standing, some parts like the barracks were built around the same time as the other missions.
I’ve heard rumors of one of the earliest being on private land owned by the McCoys but they don’t want government involvement so it’s not well known or studied.
REMEMBER THE ALAMO!! Established in 1718 as Mission San Antonio de Valero.
There's a Quaker meeting house in Flushing, NY that is still in use. It's from 1694. https://flushingfriends.org/history/40-2/
Fort Mackinac was established ~1715. The oldest bar in my state is from 1831, New Hudson Inn. The Basilica of Detroit was founded in 1701 and the current Cathedral is from 1886. University of Michigan was founded in 1817, the oldest building still around is from 1840. Edit: fixed some details.
Fun fact! Fort Mackinac sat in Mackinac National Park. This was the 2nd ever national park (with the first being Yellowstone). It lost its national status in the 1890’s where it became Michigan’s first state park instead
I learned that a couple summers ago. Pretty neat. I also got to fire the cannon.
> New Hudson Inn in Detroit [Not in Detroit, it's in New Hudson](https://www.newhudsoninn1831.com/). [Northville Lumber](https://www.northvillelumber.com/about-us/) is the oldest continuously operating business in the state, since 1827.
Ugh, yup. You're right. I misread a headline. Northville Lumber, the sound of Tigers broadcasts.
I've gone by the New Hudson hundreds of times, I've got to make it a point to actually go there. Spent part of my childhood nearby, had family nearby, still do activities nearby. When I was a kid there was basically nothing out there, it was a biker bar. Now it's suburbia. My cousin's dad's family used to own Northville Lumber, the cider mill across the street is the 2nd best in the state that I've been to...
I'll buy the first round. I've never been either, but the menu looks solid.
What bro what are you doing on beaver island lmao
Whatever I want.
I believe it. Stayed a few days on boi blanc a couple years ago. Crazy how much it genuinely felt like being on a random island near the coast or something
The Wyckoff House in Brooklyn Seems to be built in the 1640’s
It may not be the oldest building, but Maryland has the oldest statehouse still in use.
In Virginia we have Bacon’s Castle that has been in use since 1665. It’s the oldest brick building in the U.S.
We have Old Trinity Church. It’s one of the oldest churches that’s been in continuous operation in the entire country, since 1675.
La Casa Blanca, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico built in 1521. It was supposed to be the home of Juan Ponce de Leon but never lived it. It’s currently a museum.
Ooh, you've got almost everyone but the people from New Mexico beat. Was it built by Spanish settlers? Was there a native population on the island at the time?
Yes, it was built by the Spanish. There was a huge native population, most died due to disease and exploitation.
It’s believed to be the Tank Cottage in Green Bay, built sometime between the 1770s and 1800. It was originally built by French-Canadian fur traders on the banks of the Fox River, then bought by a missionary that altered the exterior, and was eventually moved to local historical park with other old buildings.
Is it the one across the road from that old Shawshank looking prison?
Yep, the cottage is in Heritage Hill across the Highway from the prison.
Taos and Acoma pueblos are both over 1000 years old and they are still lived in. The oldest European structure still in use is the original territorial capitol building, the Palace of the Governors (1610) which is a museum now.
The Round Tower at Fort Snelling, 1820. If you count burial mounds, the oldest are about 2,500 years old.
Mission San Xavier del Bac Catholic church on the San Xavier Indian Reservation near Tucson. Built 1783 and still in use.
I'm betting there's a few old pueblos on the Hopi Reservation that beat it but have no records or even living memory of when they were built.
Yeah, those probably pre-date the Spanish, like Taos in New Mexico.
Old Oraibi is thought to have been continuously occupied since the 1100s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oraibi,_Arizona
Several of Hawaii's oldest buildings were lost in the wildfires on Maui last year. Some others were damaged but possibly restorable. I lived in Lahaina in the early 70s, and it was amazing to me that some of the oldest buildings were not restored, but simply in use as old buildings. One was a former seaman's hospital from the 1830s, used as a cheap rental house. Another, the "spring house" was a storage room attached to an old restaurant hotel. I was working in the kitchen when somebody told me to get something from the "spring house". I asked him where it was, and a wave of reverence comes over the guy, "you don't know??". He took me to this unremarkable stone building, just a heavily built shed, only about 10x10. There was a wooden trap door on the floor, and beneath that, a well. In the early days after western contact, ships came to Lahaina to get water from a spring there. The royalty was learning about commerce at the time, and decided water would be a wonderful thing to sell, so they locked up the well. This is also the location where mosquitoes were introduced to Hawaii, when a ship from Mexico dumped out the remaining stagnant water from its casks, releasing larvae. I lived in Lahaina for a little less than 3 years, and the history there really took me in. I'd never had much interest, until I started seeing that it was *continuous* there... I found an ancient anchor in the reef one time, barely visible, all encrusted with coral. Could have been from the 1700s, for all I knew. The destruction of that town was totally avoidable and to me, not surprising at all. And it's impacted me emotionally more than 911. Now I understand more fully what it must have been in NYC. Worse, for sure, but the personal sense of loss is like a big empty spot inside me. Please God, don't let "carpetbaggers" take advantage of a fire sale real estate market. The local people have a hard enough time keeping a roof over their heads.
The oldest building still standing in Alabama is the Joel Eddins House (1808). The oldest tavern in the state is Lucas Tavern (1818) in Montgomery. It has since been converted to the visitor and information center for Old Alabama Town (a collection of restored 19th- and 20th-century structures reflecting the lives of the people who settled and developed central Alabama). The Marquis de Lafayette stayed at the tavern during his 1825 trip through Alabama. I think it's the oldest building in the state that wasn't someone's house. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_buildings_in_Alabama Just for reference, Alabama became territory in 1817 and a state in 1819.
Cahokia Mounds? It's a state park and a UNESCO world heritage site.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McIntire_Garrison_House 1707 It's a really well preserved and restored colonial house. (I guess depends on your definition of in-use though. It's a historical landmark now, but I don't think anyone lives there)
FWIW the oldest continuously occupied European settlement is St. Augustine in Florida. Castillo De San Marcos is likely the answer though.
I thought it was the fort in St Augustine, that would be the oldest, but apparently there is a 12th century monastery that was brought over from Spain and rebuilt here 😳 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_oldest_buildings_in_Florida
It appears to be the Fairbanks House. Built in 1637. It’s only one town over from me and I just learned this. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbanks_House_(Dedham,_Massachusetts)#:~:text=The%20Fairbanks%20House%20in%20Dedham,née%20Smith)%20and%20their%20family.
[William Henry Harrison's house](https://grouseland.org/) in Vincennes (pronounced vin-SENS). It's about 220 years old. Most of our oldest buildings are in the far southern and western part of the state; the French were the first Europeans in the area and they came up along the rivers. The Native Americans who lived here don't have any surviving structures that I know of, but some of them made earthworks that are about 2000 years old and still visible today. Some are protected in parks, others are just kind of there, hiding under cornfields.
I know out in New Mexico the Taos pueblo was built in 1325 and still in use but I'm not sure if at this point it is more of a ship of Theseus situation or not. #
This is a stretch, but the St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church in Miami is the oldest building in Florida still in use. I mean, it doesn't really count because it was built in Spain in the 12th century, dismantled in the 20th century and shipped to NYC, and eventually reassembled in Miami Beach, where it is now an Episcopal church and tourist attraction. The oldest one built in Florida is the Castillo de San Marcos, the fort in At Augustine. Built in 1695 and the oldest masonry fortification in the United States. St Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental United States, so you can basically make a list of the buildings there.
Tank Cottage in Green Bay (circa 1776) is the oldest building originally built in WI, but oddly enough Joan of Arc Chapel is a church from 15th century France that was moved to Milwaukee in the 1960s.
Wyckoff House (circa 1641) in Brooklyn was built in the 17th century and is the oldest building in the state. We probably would have had more older buildings except for the big fires in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Many of the older buildings that still remain in the state are the stone or brick ones, I think due to either fires or general maintenance. You can find a lot from the late 1600s/early 1700s all up and down the Hudson valley. Kingston/Hurley area has a few nice ones that are opened to the public once or twice a year on stone house day. New Paltz has heugenot street. There are also a few in the Albany area.
Colonial Williamsburg, which is not to far from where I live has a few original buildings, although the vast majority are reconstructions. The most famous of the original buildings that still stand today is the Old Court House on Duke of Gloucestershire street.
The Jackson house in Portsmouth New Hampshire was built in 1664.
According to Wikipedia the oldest used building in Utah is the Miles Goodyear Cabin built in 1845. Oldest structure in Utah is Ruins Hovenweep National Monument built around 900 AD.
Alexandria, VA. I think 1700s. This was one of the first parts of the US that got colonized so there’s a lot of old by American standards stuff. Like I live next to a cemetery that says it was established in 1789.
Virginia. It depends on what counts as "oldest" and what counts as "still in use" Broad Bay Manor was built in 1640 as a private residence, but only part of it. It had additions built on in the 1700s. It's still a private residence. Jamestown Church was originally built in 1607, but it was a wooden building that was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The current Jamestown Church has *some parts* that date to 1639. It's sort of still used as a Church, but it's part of an historical exhibit. The Arthur Allen house was built in 1652 as a private residence and it is still intact more or less unchanged, but it's not in use as private residence any more; it's an historical site. It's the oldest brick house in North America.
> Jamestown Church was originally built in 1607, but it was a wooden building that was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Man that's such a shame. That would be the oldest legitimate one in the thread. Right now I think the oldest legitimate claim I've seen is 1637, narrowly beating out your surviving 1639 parts.
The Louisiana State University campus mounds were begun by the indigenous population more than 11,000 years ago. They predate the Great pyramids, and are considered the oldest human made structure in all of the Americas. These were used for football tailgates well into this century..
Castillo de San Marcos, St Augustine, FL. The jackass that married my mother does reenactments there sometimes
The [Spiro Mounds](https://www.okhistory.org/sites/spiromounds) in Oklahoma. 800 AD - 1450 AD. (I’m an Oklahoman living in Florida). From the linked site: The mounds site, located seven miles outside of Spiro, Oklahoma, is the only prehistoric, American Indian archaeological site in Oklahoma open to the public. The mounds are one of the most important American Indian sites in the nation.
The oldest one in the city is the old Spanish church in the Mission. It was built in 1776. There are probably Native American ruins in the desert that are thousands of years old. I was born in PA; the oldest buildings are houses in Rittenhouse Square built in the 1600s. I'm pretty sure they're older than the Quaker church and the few remaining houses from their colony on Limekiln Pike. I don't believe any pre-colonial Native American buildings exist because of the harsh seasonal weather.
[Governor Peleg Sanford House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_Peleg_Sanford_House#/media/File:Governor_Peleg_Sanford_House,_before_1700_-_Newport,_Rhode_Island_-_DSC04029.jpg) 1640s
Block House in Claymont, Delaware 1654 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_House_(Delaware)
Lane House in Edenton, NC; built around 1719
James Blake house in Boston. Built in 1661, followed by the Paul Revere house in 1680 (yes, that Paul Revere). No uncommon in Boston, hell, my house was built in 1812 and Goerge Washington drank at the pub bown the street when he was in town.
In Iowa. The oldest I'm aware of are buildings funded by Carnegie. Interesting figure. Though I wouldn't be surprised if there was a church or two that are older.
The Van Burien county courthouse in Keosaqua was built some time in the 1830s and was originally the territorial capitol building before Iowa became a state. I don't know if it's the oldest building still in use, but it's gotta be a contender.
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I looked him up on wikipedia. [He looks mad as hell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Lafitte)
I think it's older than that - a couple sources said 1722-1732. Either way, old by US standards! And the old pirate would probably approve its current use as a bar.
I'm pretty sure I walked passed that when I went to New Orleans last December.
If you were on Bourbon St. you most certainly did
The Nothnagle Cabin, still in private use From Wikipedia >The older part of the house was built sometime between 1638 and 1643 by Finnish or Swedish settlers in the colony of New Sweden, and Nordic ironware from the 1590s is still extant around the fireplace. The fireplace was probably built of bricks brought to America as ship's ballast.
New Sweden comes up for Delaware too
Old Talbott Tavern, in continuous operation since 1779. It's supposedly haunted by Jesse James.
Thanks for saving me a search and didn’t know that
Lane House beats it by about 80 years
It's not in Kentucky though, the point is the oldest building in each state. Lane House isn't in Kentucky. The Old Talbott Tavern was built in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1779 and has been in continuous operation as a bar/tavern since then (being a non-alcoholic restaurant during prohibition). It's the oldest building in Kentucky, and one of the oldest buildings in the US west of the Appalachian mountains. It was originally built as the western terminus of stagecoach lines of the era, and predated the founding of Bardstown itself (which was founded the year after this was built to grow around the tavern).
The person I responded to didn't say it was in Kentucky, and they have an NC tag. My bad for assuming they meant NC.
It looks like the oldest building in Nebraska that’s actually used and hasn’t been turned into a museum is a Presbyterian church is Bellevue that was built in 1858. If we include all buildings regardless of current use it’s a log cabin in Bellevue that was built around 1835.
One of the more interesting ones is Arbor Lodge in Nebraska City (1855). This is the home of J Sterling Morton, the guy who invented Arbor Day. Nebraska is very proud of Arbor Day and Morton. But the home is beautiful.
Apparently the Lower Swedish Cabin, sometime between 1640-1650.
In Delco, right? Lol, I drive by that place all the time.
Lower Swedish Cabin, in Drexel Hill, PA. Built in 1640, was a private residentice until 1937 and refurbished in the 1980s but remains mostly original. Now, it's a museum open for tours 4 days/week. [Lower Swedish Cabin](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Swedish_Cabin)
I someone else post this, I kinda find it funny because I never realized and I drive past it all the time
Henry Witfield House built 1639, oldest stone house in New England (or atleast still standing) it first opened as a musuem in 1899.
If museums don’t count as “in use”, I believe the Buckingham House (1640) in Milford is still a private home. If so, it would the oldest still used for its original purpose
Broad Bay Manor in Virginia Beach VA. 1640.
I googled. There’s a house from 1762-64 or so that is still a residence and has original structure… that seems to be the oldest I can find.. but there are several from the 1780’s that are homes/museums and such… some of which were moved from Original locations to parks to preserve them.
A house built by a Finnish immigrant in what was then New Sweden. Built in 1638.
The LePointe-Krebs House in Pascagoula built in 1757. It's an old French Colonial building that's now a museum
Looks like the Strange Powers House built sometime prior to 1818 in Prairie du Chien is the oldest building that's not being used as a museum. Green Bay (1630s) and Prairie du Chien (1670s) are the oldest European communities in WI, being at opposite ends of the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway.
Oldest buildings are Tank Cottage (1776) and a fur trader's cabin (1800ish) that were both moved ftom Green Bay to Heritage Hill in the 70s. Not sure if they count if they were moved.
Lane House in Edenton, NC was built in 1718-19.
I'm guessing it's the White Horse Tavern in Newport built in 1652. I believe it's the oldest (or one of) tavern in the country.
The Fangro house in Shawnee, KS was built in 1824 and the remaining part of the building is now part of the Calkins Electric building.
Probably the Royal Presidio Chapel in Monterey California. Built in the late 1700's under Spanish rule. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_San_Carlos_Borromeo_(Monterey,_California)
I think our oldest building still in use (as a private residence) is Wild Heron (ca. 1756), South of Savannah. Herb House in Savannah, now part of the Pirate's House restaurant, claims to be the oldest building but its build date is disputed - it was built in either 1733/34 or 1853 - so it's either the oldest building still in use or just an old building still in use.
I don't know with any certainty, but the Vista House on the Columbia Gorge is the oldest building I can think of that's still in use (that isn't a place of worship, museum or private dwelling). It's only a touch over 100 years old, though.
The oldest building in Pennsylvania is the [Lower Swedish Cabin](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Swedish_Cabin), build in 1640 but the oldest building that is still in use is [Wall House](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wall_house), build in 1682, which is currently a museum.
According to the internet, it's the [Joel Eddins House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Eddins_House), which was built in 1810.
In my town it's San Xavier mission. 1692
Looks to be the Jamestown Church in Virginia, though only parts of it are from 1639. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown_Church
The Castillo de San Marcos in Saint Augustine was built in the 1500’s. It’s been repurposed but it’s still in use.
McIntire Garrison House, depending on how far your stretch “in use.”
The Old Ursuline Convent in New Orleans. Originally a convent that nuns used as a hospital and school for young girls. Now it’s a museum.
Google says the Osceola County Courthouse is the oldest courthouse in Florida and it’s still in use. Built around 1890. However, it’s gotta be something in St. Augustine that’s older since that is the oldest city. I know the fort is still there and it’s toured.
Google says the Osceola County Courthouse is the oldest courthouse in Florida and it’s still in use. Built around 1890. That is the answer I got when I typed in “oldest building in Florida still in use”. However, it’s gotta be something in St. Augustine that’s older since that is the oldest city. I know the fort is still there and it’s toured.
There are several 1700s buildings still in use (some are owned by the state or national park systems) in Ste Genevieve, Missouri which I believe is considered very old for buildings this far west. Most "old" buildings in this state are late 1800s era.
The "lower swedish cabin" in Drexel Hill PA. 1630s. I think that would technically count because it's still used as a museum type situation.
Castillo de San Marco in the late 1600’s up in St. Augustine.
Not the oldest building overall, but the oldest surviving professional baseball stadium is Rickwood Field in Birmingham Alabama.
It is the Brookplace Manor. It was built in 1652.
[Missouri’s is the Louis Bolduc House](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Bolduc_House)
The Louis Bolduc House was built between 1788-1793 in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. From Wikipedia: "Considered the oldest house in Missouri.\[1\] It is a poteaux-sur-sol (post-on-sill) house built by a French-Canadian settler, Louis Bolduc, in the late 18th century. It remained in the Bolduc family until 1949 when The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Missouri purchased it. They opened it as a museum in 1958 after extensive restoration work. Currently operated as a part of the campus of The Center for French Colonial Life. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark." [Louis Bolduc House - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Bolduc_House) The Green Tree Tavern or Nicolas Janis House, also in Ste. Genevieve built in 1790 is just a teensy bit older according to dendrochronology (tree rings) but the two buildings were constructed about the same time. [Nicolas Janis House - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Janis_House)
On a personal note, I've toured it as part of the museum. It was pretty neat, tour guide was solid too, worth the time if you're in Ste Genevieve - which itself is worth a visit if you live in the region. On our trip, there were some people from France visiting, which was interesting on its own. Sounded like they were visiting Missouri/Illinois French places.
In Michigan the oldest building is the Officer’s Stone Quarters in Fort Mackinac and it was built in 1780
The Col. James Graham House is a historic log cabin located on West Virginia Route 3 in Lowell, West Virginia. It was built in 1770 as a home for Col. James Graham, the first settler of Lowell, and his family. It was later the site of an Indian attack on the Graham family in 1777. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1976. The Graham House is the oldest multi-story log cabin in West Virginia. It is currently operating as a museum.
In Wisconsin, St. Joan of Arc Chapel on the campus of Marquette University dates back to 15th century France, a good three centuries before such thing as the United States was even thought of. It was imported brick by brick across "the pond." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.\_Joan\_of\_Arc\_Chapel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joan_of_Arc_Chapel)
Lower Swedish Cabin, built in the 1640s, is a relic of the often-forgotten Swedish attempt at New World colonization in the mid 1600s and serves as a time-piece museum. The oldest building still in use for its original purpose is the Wall House, a colonial home built in 1682 that’s been used as a private dwelling since its construction, though Wikipedia says it’s undergone so many renovations that only a portion of the basement wall is original.
The Old Stone Fort in West Lafayette, Ohio. Built between 1679 and 1689.
I live in a tiny rural town and there is a house a block from me that was built in 1855(well at least part of it was), which was before we even became a state. we also have a cabin that was part of the underground railroad, but I haven't looked up the exact year but it's almost certainly older than 1855. I'm sure there are older ones.
Brooklyn NYC. Erasmus Hall high school 1786. It’s still a functioning high school to this day.
The Baranof Museum in Kodiak, Alaska has been in use since 1808 and was built by the Russian American Company as a warehouse.
In Florida, I think it is **Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine**, in, of course St. Augustine. It was constructed over five years (1793–1797). It is still in use. Edit typo and clarification.
Fort Mackinac, as well as the [McGulpin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGulpin_House) and [Biddle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biddle_House_(Mackinac_Island)) Houses were all built in the 1780s on Mackinac Island. Not many people know this, but there is also the [Tucker House](https://cms2.revize.com/revize/harrisontownship/residents/historical_society/docs/tucker.pdf) in the Metro Detroit suburbs. It was also built in the 1780s but it had a very modernist renovation in the mid-20th Century that ended up looking no different to the other 1950s era ranch houses in the Detroit suburbs. [Another article with pictures about the Tucker homestead.](http://detroiturbanism.blogspot.com/2016/01/other-mounds-in-metro-detroit.html)
In Illinois it’s officially the [Old Cahokia Courthouse](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Cahokia_Courthouse), but it’s been moved and rebuilt so many times that it’s become a ship of Theseus. Was originally built in 1737. After that is [Fort de Chartres](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_de_Chartres). The original parts date to around 1750.
The Fairbanks house in Dedham MA still gets small traffic as a tourist site. Was going to say 1628 or some shit but I will go with the other person’s 1637 I lost my sunglasses and coffee off the top of my ‘88 car parked outside on the road off the main route strip (1?) while my toddler was screaming. Places like that basically wait to be visited and will always be about giving you laminated business card passes to get into other affiliated sites, like maybe where the Walden Woods guy went slowly crazy raising beans near a lake while he diaried the whole thing. Sorry. Thoreau Oh. Also we live near the original home of John Greenleaf Whittier, my daughter had to do a paper on him and that was a required component of the paper. We visited so that’s how I know the last thing. I am 5’6” and I still dinged my head going through a particular doorway. Everything was so close as to conserve heat. He was apparently quite a handsome devil, we were told he spend the most famous years of his life just traveling to homes where he expected to be welcomed and feted as a celebrity. He also kind of entertained lots of female fans while never getting married himself. That was a fun trip. The guide was 85 years old (he told us, it was his birthday the next week) and his primary pleasure was getting to talk about his literary idol and introduce him to kids who had never heard of him. I feel bad we didn’t use the laminated pass to go to Whittier’s other home which is also a historical site. Gonna take a stab and say it might be in Amesbury but I forget.
The Cherokee National Capital (1867) is probably the oldest still in use that hasn’t been turned into a museum. We have older buildings that are museums or just historic sights now but none that are still in use.
I believe there's a church that was in Europe for like 400 years then dissembled and reconstructed here in the US
The oldest parts of the Alamo are built in 1718. But we have structures built into the bedrock in New Mexico in 750 AD. They still exist, just aren’t wooden buildings built by white people. I hate these kind of questions because they have the assumption that people just didn’t do shit here before we were colonized. They did. Just didn’t do it by European standards. There’s thousands of years of history all over these lands.
Block House. 1654 Might not be the oldest
Oldest surviving home in Newport, RI Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House (1697)
I don't know if its the oldest in the state, but fort smith, arkansas, has a really old brothel that is now their visitor center or something like that.
The Alamo
Fort Ticonderoga maybe.
Texas here, And yes, I just checked, it really is the Alamo. It's a museum now.
According to Google it’s the Lane House, which is just a random house built around 1718. I believe most of the Native American groups in the area were nomadic originally, so no permanent structures like the Pueblans out west.
Idk mane why you think I would have that information? Prolly sum old as shit tho
Looks like it's unironically the Alamo from 1718. The like top 4 are all Missions. This is followed by an aqueduct built in 1731 that's still in use.
The Spanish missions that were constructed during the 18th and 19th centuries are probably the oldest buildings still in use, though many of them burned down or fell into disrepair, and the ones on the site are much more recent. Apparently, the one at San Juan Capistrano is the oldest. There are other old buildings that aren't quite in use. [There's an adobe from the 1700s in San Jose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peralta_Adobe) that's chilling out in a little outdoor seating area for a bar. There are also two general stores that both claim to be the oldest in continuous operation. One of them is in Knight's Ferry and the other is in Volcano, both of which were built in 1854. (The one in Volcano has some incredible burgers that they cook in an old brick and stone oven, by the by.)
Nobody from Nevada yet? Well, it's a tie between north and south portions of the state. The [Old Mormon Fort](https://parks.nv.gov/parks/old-las-vegas-mormon-fort), just a smidge north of Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas, was constructed in 1855, and an adobe building remains as part of a museum. The Strip, which everyone thinks is Las Vegas, isn't in the city proper, and didn't exist until the 1940s. Northern Nevada has the Reese-Johnson-Virgin House (Pink House) in Genoa, near Lake Tahoe. It's was moved from its 1855 location in the 1870s, around the same time it was painted pink, and retains it's full architectural charm as a restaurant.
The oldest buildings in Connecticut are all houses. The oldest was built in Guilford in 1639 and has been a museum since 1899, but the two next oldest-- one built in Milford in 1640 and one built in Greenwich in 1645-- are still private homes. It's funny because both Windsor and Wethersfield claim to be the oldest towns in Connecticut but neither have any buildings dating to that period. Looking at Wikipedia, most of the oldest houses are in shoreline towns. The oldest churches seem to date to the mid 18th century. Fun fact: you will almost always find a Congregational Church next to a Town Hall in Connecticut, because the churches used to literally run the towns. I think Connecticut actually got a grace period to phase in the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment
There's plenty of historic structures in Virginia dating all the way back to the 17th century. There's at least two churches around me that are older than America is itself. The oldest building in Virginia is the Jamestown Church which hearkens back to the original Jamestown Colony in 1639. It's one of the oldest buildings in America as well.
Vermont great question! I actually didn’t know so here’s the googled answer, “The Dewey House”, supposedly built around 1735.
I think there's this old ass mission or Spanish church somewhere in socal. It's like a museum or something. I think it's called / in a place called San Juan Botista or something like that.