This article attempts to list the oldest buildings in the state of New York, including the oldest houses and any other surviving structures. Some dates are approximate and based on architectural studies and historical records; other dates are based on dendrochronology. All entries should include citation with reference to: architectural features indicative of the date of construction; a report by an architectural historian; or dendrochronology.
Sites on the list are generally from the First Period of American architecture. If the exact year of initial construction is estimated, it will be shown as a range of dates.
List
editBuilding | Image | Location | First Built | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wyckoff House | East Flatbush, Brooklyn | 1652 | Oldest surviving structure in New York, oldest in Brooklyn, oldest on Long Island. | |
Zachariah Hawkins House | Stony Brook | 1660 c. | ||
Klinkenberg(h) Bouwerji | Coxsackie | 1663 c. | One of oldest surviving Dutch homes north of greater New York City area. On the western shore of Hudson River. Klinkenberg(h) was translated by Pelletrau in Beer's History of Greene County from Old Dutch as "Echo Hill". On August 25, 1670, Jurian Teunisse Tappen sold his one third of the Rensselaerswyck patroonship to Abraham Staats and Johannes Provoost. The deed in the 1670 sale to Staats and Provoost, later known as The Loonenburg patent, mentions a barn, indicating a preceding settlement.
Notable owners: On September 6, 1694 reports the sale of Klinkenberg was sold to Jacob Casperson Hallenbeck; it became “the original seat of the family of Hallenbecks” for several generations. During the Revolutionary War, Klinkenberg was inhabited by the Provoost family, who were “noted tories.” In Klinkenberg was referenced as “George Houghtaling's house ref: Pelletreau’s chapter “Coxsackie” in "Beers History of Greene County", p 4, 1884. Since 1962, property of family of Harold Oaklander and Isabelle Rapin. | |
Bronck House | Coxsackie | 1663 | ||
Billiou–Stillwell–Perine House | Dongan Hills, Staten Island | 1665 | Oldest surviving structure in Staten Island | |
Brewster House | East Setauket | 1665 | ||
Robert Coles Homestead | Glen Cove, Long Island | 1668 | In May of 1668, Joseph Carpenter of Rhode Island negotiated with the Matinecock Indians to purchase several hundred acres of land on which to build a saw mill and grist mill in what was then Musketa Cove. Robert Coles was one of the "Five Proprietors of the Musketa Cove Patent" and was the first to build his homestead at what is now 34 The Place. He and his wife, Mercy Wright of Oyster Bay, had 9 children and lived in the eastern-most wing of the existing property which still stands today.[1] | |
Bowne House | Flushing, Queens | 1669[2] | Oldest surviving structure in Queens; once hosted a well-known Quaker meeting | |
Cubberly-Britton Cottage | Richmondtown, Staten Island | 1670 | ||
Abraham Manee House | Prince's Bay, Staten Island | 1670 | ||
Jans Martense Schenck house | Brooklyn | 1675 | Originally in Flatlands; installed within the Brooklyn Museum 1964 | |
Old Senate House | City of Kingston | 1676 | New York State Constitution written and signed here | |
Conference House | Tottenville, Staten Island | 1680 | Listed as a National Historic Landmark | |
Timothy Knapp House | Rye | 1680 | Listed on National Register of Historic Places | |
Van Nostrand-Starkins House | Roslyn | 1680[3] | Main Street Historic District (Roslyn, New York) | |
Chichester's Inn | West Hills | 1680 [4] | Listed on National Register of Historic Places. Also known as the 'Peace and Plenty Inn'. | |
Bevier House Museum | Marbletown | 1680 [5] | Currently houses the Ulster County Historical Society | |
Philipse Manor Hall | Yonkers | 1682 | Oldest surviving structure in Westchester County. | |
Old Halsey House | Village of Southampton | 1688 | 1688 According to dendrochronology survey by Oxford, 1683 build date according to the local historical society in Southampton http://www.southamptonhistoricalmuseum.org/ | |
Bedell Family Farm House | Bellmore | 1689 | Farmhouse built by early settler Robert Bedell for his son John and his wife Sarah Southard. Originally located on Merrick Boulevard. | |
Alice Austen House | Rosebank, Staten Island | 1690 | Built by a Dutch merchant then remodeled in the Gothic Revival Style in 1844 | |
Jeremiah Conklin House | Amagansett | 1690 [citation needed] | Built by Jeremiah Conkling and his wife Mary, daughter of Lion Gardiner, first English settler of New York colony [citation needed] | |
Joseph Whitman House | West Hills, Long Island | 1692 | ||
Old Quaker Meeting House | Flushing, Queens | 1694 | Oldest religious building in New York City still standing [6] | |
Joachim Staats House[7] | Staats Island, Rensselaer County | 1696[8] | Called Hoogebergh, meaning "high hill", the house has remained the family homestead since it was erected by Joachim Staats in 1696.[8] William Staats, a 9th generation Hoogebergh inhabitant, details the history of the house and chronicles the family anecdotes of the 20th century in his book, Three Centuries on the Hudson River.[9] | |
Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow | Sleepy Hollow | 1697 | Possibly the oldest surviving church in the state. May date to 1685. | |
Old House | Cutchogue | 1699[10] | Dated by dendrochronology[10] | |
De Wint House | Tappan | 1700 | Washington Revolutionary headquarters; one of the oldest surviving buildings in Rockland County | |
Ezra Carll Homestead | South Huntington, Long Island | 1700 | ||
Jarvis-Fleet House | Huntington, Long Island | 1700 | ||
Lispenard–Rodman–Davenport House | New Rochelle | 1700 | ||
Tobias van Steenburgh House | Kingston | 1700 c. | One of the few buildings in Kingston not burned in 1777 by British troops (though most of the burned stone houses were repaired and remain). | |
Treasure House | Richmondtown, Staten Island | 1700 | ||
Tysen-Neville House | New Brighton, Staten Island | 1700 | ||
John Wood House | Huntington Station, Long Island | 1704 | Built by a Dutch merchant then remodeled in the Gothic Revival Style in 1844 | |
Mabee House | Rotterdam | 1705 | The oldest house in the Mohawk Valley | |
Jan Van Loon House | Village of Athens | 1706 | One of the oldest houses in Greene County[11] | |
Crailo | Rensselaer | 1707 | Residence of Hendrick van Rensselaer | |
Madam Brett Homestead | Beacon | 1709 | Oldest building in Dutchess County, first house on Rombout Patent, on National Register | |
Gomez Mill House | Town of Newburgh | 1712 | Oldest known extant residence of a Jewish American | |
Lewis Pintard House | New Rochelle | 1710 | Home of Revolutionary War patriot Lewis Pintard | |
Fraunces Tavern | Lower Manhattan | 1719 | Etienne "Stephen" DeLancey built the current building as his house; tavern since 1762 | |
Brinckerhoff House | Fishkill | 1717 | Originally two-room stone cottage used as a trading post and later rebuilt as a mansion & now converted to an Inn. | |
Pieter Winne House | Selkirk, Albany County | 1720 | Purportedly the oldest house in the Town of Bethlehem [citation needed] | |
Ariaanje Coeymans House | Coeymans | 1720 | There is another Coeymans house a mile south of this one, on the Hannacroix Creek. Date unknown. | |
Hendrick I. Lott House | Marine Park, Brooklyn | 1720 | ||
Jan Van Hoesen House | Claverack | c. 1720 | ||
John Oakley House | West Hills, Long Island | c. 1720 | The original structure was built about 1720 and expanded in the 1780s. | |
Bull Stone House | Hamptonburgh | 1720s | Property also contains the oldest intact Dutch barn in the state | |
Thomas Dodge Homestead | Port Washington, Long Island | 1721 | The original farmhouse was built in 1721 with additions completed in 1750 and 1903 | |
Kreuzer-Pelton House | West New Brighton, Staten Island | 1722 | ||
Albertus Van Loon House | Village of Athens | 1724 | Possibly the second-oldest house in Greene County | |
Heermance Farmhouse | Red Hook (town), New York | 1725 | Oldest house in the Town of Red Hook. Retains much original detail in the interior. Original woodwork including panelling, tiger maple bannister and granary door. | |
Abraham Yates House | Schenectady | c. 1725 | Possibly the oldest house in Schenectady | |
French Castle at Fort Niagara | Porter | 1726 | Oldest building on the Great Lakes, oldest building in Western New York. | |
48 Hudson Avenue | Albany | 1728 | Oldest stand-alone structure in Albany | |
Lent Homestead | East Elmhurst, Queens | 1729 | The western portion of the house may date to 1654 | |
Benner House | Village of Rhinebeck | 1730 | Oldest house in the village; a rare example of German vernacular architecture, and the sole remaining house in Dutchess County with a one-room floorplan built to German traditions rather than Dutch. Here was held the first Methodist church services in the town conducted by the Rev. Freeborn Garrettson from 1791–1793. | |
King Mansion | Jamaica, Queens | 1730 | The rear section of the house dates to 1730, the left section to 1755, the main structure (right section) to 1806. | |
Suydam House | Centerport, Long Island | c. 1730 | ||
John Rogers House | Dix Hills, Long Island | 1732 | ||
Queen Anne Parsonage [citation needed] | Fort Hunter | 1734 | ||
Cornelius Van Wyck House | Douglaston, Queens | 1735 | ||
Nicoll-Sill House – Bethlehem House [citation needed] | Selkirk, Albany County | c. 1735 | Home of Rensselaer Nicoll and Elizabeth Salisbury Nicoll | |
St. James Church | Elmhurst, Queens | 1736 | ||
Jacob Smith House | West Hills, Long Island | c. 1740 | The home consists of a three-bay, 1+1⁄2-story saltbox built about 1740 and a five-bay, 1+1⁄2-story dwelling with a shed roof wing added about 1830. | |
Lake-Tysen House | Oakwood, Staten Island | 1740 | ||
Kasparus Westervelt House [12] | Town of Poughkeepsie | 1745 | ||
Stoothoff–Baxter–Kouwenhaven House | Flatlands, Brooklyn | 1747 | ||
Van Cortlandt House | Van Cortlandt Park | 1748 | Oldest building in the Bronx | |
Creedmoor (Cornell) Farmhouse | Glen Oaks, Queens | 1750 | ||
David Conklin House | Huntington, Long Island | c. 1750 | ||
Ireland-Gardiner Farm | Greenlawn, Long Island | c. 1750 | ||
Isaac Losee House | Huntington, Long Island | c. 1750 | One of the oldest private residences on Long Island | |
Henry Smith Farmstead | Huntington Station, Long Island | 1750 | Built about 1750 and remodelled in the 1860s | |
Steenburgh Tavern | Rhinebeck | 1750 | German vernacular stone house built into a hillside with an unusual sweeping Dutch roof | |
William Arthur House | Smithtown | 1752 | NY-25A and Redwood Lane [1] 40°51′18.6″N 73°11′57.3″W / 40.855167°N 73.199250°W | |
Stone Jug | Clermont | 1752 | Contributing property to the Hudson River Historic District | |
The Old 76 House | Tappan | 1754 | Oldest surviving building in Rockland County; third oldest public house in America; Maj. John Andre held before trial and hanging in Tappan | |
Christopher House | Richmondtown, Staten Island | 1756 | ||
Valentine–Varian House | Norwood, Bronx | 1758 | Second oldest house in the Bronx | |
Palatine German Wohleben House | Frankfort, New York | 1760 | ||
Bryant Skidmore House | Northport | 1761 | Located near Great Cow Harbor and Red Hook. | |
Strawberry Hill | Rhinebeck | 1762 | The National Register of Historic Places called this the most monumental stone farmhouse in Northern Dutchess County. Built by Henry Beekman in 1762. | |
St. Paul's Chapel | Lower Manhattan | 1764 | Third oldest surviving church in New York City, after the Flushing Friends Meeting House (1694) and St. Andrew's Church, Staten Island (1709). | |
Morris–Jumel Mansion | Upper Manhattan | 1765 | ||
Wyckoff-Bennett Homestead | Flatlands, Brooklyn | 1766 | ||
Beekman Arms and Delamater Inn | Village of Rhinebeck | 1766[13] | Oldest surviving inn in America and oldest structure in the village. | |
Indian Castle Church | Danube | 1769 | Only colonial Indian missionary church surviving in the state, and the only Iroquois building surviving from its time[14] | |
Voorlezer's House | Richmondtown, Staten Island | 1769 c. | Long held to be the oldest schoolhouse in America, although the original schoolhouse built on the property does not survive. Traditionally dated to 1695/6. | |
Boehm-Frost House | Richmondtown, Staten Island | 1770 | ||
Fulton County Courthouse | Johnstown | 1772 | Oldest courthouse in the United States that remains in use | |
Kingsland Homestead | Flushing, Queens | 1774 | ||
Lefferts Homestead | Prospect Park, Brooklyn | 1777 | Moved to Prospect Park from its original location at 563 Flatbush Avenue | |
Baylis Homestead | Floral Park, Nassau County | 1779 | Oldest House in Floral Park | |
Dyckman House | Inwood, Manhattan | 1784 | Only remaining original farmhouse in Manhattan | |
Edward Mooney House | Lower Manhattan | 1785 | Oldest surviving row house in Manhattan | |
Ellis Squires Jr. House | Hampton Bays | 1785 | Oldest surviving row house in Hampton Bays | |
Stone-Tolan House | Brighton | c. 1792 | A Federal-style structure said to be the oldest surviving building in Monroe County | |
Joost Van Nuyse House | Flatlands, Brooklyn | 1793 | ||
Bridge Cafe | Lower Manhattan | 1795 | Oldest wooden building in Manhattan | |
Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church | Flatbush | 1796 | ||
Blackwell House | Roosevelt Island | 1796 | 40°45′37″N 73°57′4″W / 40.76028°N 73.95111°W’ | |
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum | Upper East Side, Manhattan | 1799 | Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. | |
Gracie Mansion | Upper East Side, Manhattan | 1799 | Mayor's Residence | |
Van Nuyse-Magaw House | Midwood | 1800 | 1041 East 22nd Street [2] 40°37′36.5″N 73°57′15.5″W / 40.626806°N 73.954306°W | |
Hamilton Grange | Hamilton Heights | 1802 | Home of Alexander Hamilton. Relocated twice (1889 and 2008).[15][16] | |
Wadsworth Homestead | Geneseo | 1804 | Built in 1804 by James Wadsworth who came to Geneseo in 1790. Originally a two-story foursquare home. Enlarged in 1815[17] | |
Swart-Wilcox House | Oneonta | 1807 | Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1807. Now operated as the Swart-Wilcox House Museum.. | |
Gideon Tucker House | Tribeca, Manhattan | 1809 | 2 White Street. Small Federal style row house | |
Willets Point Farmhouse | Bayside, now Fort Totten, Queens | 1829 | Built by Charles and Martha Willet and eventually moved to Fort Totten. The fort itself was built in 1857, and an Officer's Club was built in 1870 which is now home to the Bayside Historical Society. | |
Cantonment Farm | 1812 | This private residence is the last standing officers' barracks built in 1812. | ||
Putnam County Court House | Carmel | 1814 | Second oldest courthouse in the United States that remains in use | |
Clarkson Community Church | Clarkson | 1825 | This Protestant church, perhaps the oldest in western Monroe County, was established in 1816 and has operated continuously since that date. The original 1825 Colonial structure, with a 100' steeple, has had two subsequent additions (in 1967 and in 1985). | |
Dash home[citation needed] | Eden | 1816 | Has been consistently lived in since 1816. The property backs up to 18 mile creek & has a tributary with 5 waterfalls. There are 200 year old black walnut, apple & mulberry trees also on the property. | |
Hull Family Home and Farmstead | Lancaster | c. 1820 | Lived in until 1990’S, but is now a preserved home and is able to be visited. The Hulls moved into the property c1800 but built the house in 1820. The house is the oldest stone house in Erie county. | |
LaTourette House | Staten Island | 1836 | 1836 brick Federal-style building now used as clubhouse for city-owned golf course.[18] | |
Anshe Slonim Synagogue | Lower Manhattan | 1849 | Oldest surviving synagogue building in New York City | |
203 East 29th Street | Kips Bay, Manhattan | 1790/1870 | Private owned house dated back from 1790 or 1870 based on different sources. Listed in National Register of Historic Places |
Notes
edit- ^ Russell, Daniel E. "The Robert Coles Homestead 1668" (PDF). Glen Cove Heritage. Glen Cove, New York. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ Cook, Edward R.; Callahan, Jr., William J.; Krusic, Paul (April 2006). "A Dendrochronological Analysis of the John Bowne House Flushing, Queens, New York" (PDF). Hudson-Mohawk Vernacular Architecture. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ "Bryant Library Local History". The Bryant Library.
- ^ "Peace and Plenty Inn". Patch Huntington NY. 2010-08-20.
- ^ "BEVIER HOUSE MUSEUM". Ulster County Historical Society. 2015-05-26.
- ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission. “Friends Meeting House.” August 18, 1970. Vertical files, Queens Borough Public Library. Archived 2013-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "National Register of Historical Places – NEW YORK (NY), Rensselaer County". www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
- ^ a b "A link to Capital Region through 3 centuries". Times Union. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
- ^ Staats, W. L. (2012-10-16). Three Centuries on the Hudson River: One Family...One Dutch House. William Staats. ISBN 978-0-578-06243-3.
- ^ a b "Old House, Cutchogue, New York". Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory. Baltimore, Maryland. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ Cutter, William Richard; Reynolds, Cuyler (1913). "14". Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation . Vol. 3. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 1112. ISBN 9780806346755. OCLC 423822035. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
Jan built house in the lower part of what is now village of Athens a short distance north Black Rock on ground later occupied as shipyard by Matthias Van Loon A from the original house bearing the 1706 JVL gives the name of builder and the date of erection.
- ^ "Joseph Westervelt House Location: 202 Spackenkill Road". Town of Poughkeepsie, Historic Landmarks. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ "History | Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn Rhinebeck". Beekman Arms & Delamater Inn. Rhinebeck, New York. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ "Indian Castle Church data pages". Historic American Buildings Survey. Library of Congress. 2007-11-16.
- ^ "Hamilton Grange Convent Ave location (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ "A Monumental Move (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ "WELCOME TO THE WADSWORTH HOMESTEAD". Wadsworth Homestead. Geneseo, New York. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
- ^ Santoro, Lisa M. (2017-05-24). "Touring the historic homes of Staten Island's Lighthouse Hill". Curbed NY. Retrieved 2017-06-29.