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List of the oldest buildings in Virginia

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See also: List of the oldest buildings in the United States

This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings in the state of Virginia.

Building Image Location First built Notes
Jamestown Church Jamestown, Virginia finished by 1647 church tower and foundations are all that remain from the earliest period 1639–1647.[1]
Belleville Ware Neck, Virginia 1658 c. Located on Belleville Lane. It seems little research has been conducted on this historic plantation. Some traditional sources,[2] as well as the Virginia Department of Historic Resources ascribe a date of 1658.
Broad Bay Manor Virginia Beach 1640 c. or 1660 c. Purportedly the oldest extant European-built house in the southeastern United States. Built by Thomas Allen either c.1640[3] or c. 1660 [4] on land granted to him by Governor Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. The small center portion of what is now a much larger structure, it was primarily constructed from Flemish bond brick. Corroborative dating efforts have not been performed. It has always been a private residence. It is located in the Broad Bay Colony part of northeastern Virginia Beach.[5]
Bacon's Castle Surry County, Virginia 1665 associated with Bacon's Rebellion
Warwick Accomack County, Virginia 1673
St. Mary's, Whitechapel Lancaster, Virginia 1675
Lowland Cottage Ware Neck, Virginia 1676
Winona Bridgetown, Virginia 1681 The only known 17th-century house in the country, other than Bacon's Castle in Surry County, to have diagonally-placed triple-chimney stacks.
St. Luke's Church Smithfield, Virginia ca. 1682 a recent dendrochronology study confirms the preponderance of other research pointing to early 1680s construction.
Ravenswood Accomac, Virginia 1683 Also known as the Custis-Valentine house. Very little information regarding this building exists, however it is reportedly very old. Date of construction is derived from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Foster's Castle Tunstall, Virginia 1685–1690
Building east of main house at Elsing Green Tunstall, Virginia 1690
Pinewoods (Lightfoot, Virginia) Lightfoot, Virginia ca. 1690s
Criss Cross New Kent, Virginia 1690 Restored in 1953, similar to Foster's Castle nearby.
Nelson-Galt House Williamsburg, Virginia 1695 Dendrochronology provided a date that preceded tradition. Chances are the structure was moved about ten years after its initial construction to the new city of Williamsburg.
Grace Church Yorktown, Virginia 1697
Dogham, Doggams Charles City County, Virginia circa 1700 or 1652
The Hermitage Virginia Beach, Virginia 1700
Belle Air Plantation Charles City County, Virginia ca. 1700
John Weblin House Virginia Beach 1700
Westerhouse House Northampton County, Virginia ca. 1700
Wren Building Williamsburg, Virginia 1700 Oldest school building in America, original College of William and Mary structure[6]
St. Peter's Church New Kent, Virginia 1703 Church of Martha Washington, George and Martha Washington may have been married here
Yeocomico Church Tucker Hill, Virginia 1706 National Historic Landmark
The Public Magazine Williamsburg, Virginia 1715 Also known as the Powder Magazine or "Powder Horn", this uniqiue, 3 floor octagonal building was built under the tenure of Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood, for the storage of the colony's arms and munitions, a purpose which it served until 1775.
Bruton Parish Church Williamsburg, Virginia 1715 Church established in 1674, current structure completed in 1715
Peyton Randolph House Williamsburg, Virginia 1715 Oldest portions dated to 1715, current structure includes later additions and reconstructions. Colonial National Parkway passes below it.
Ware Parish Church Gloucester Courthouse, Virginia 1718 Episcopal Church. Previously thought to have been constructed in 1690, mortar samples give a date of 1718 [7]
Brush-Everard House Williamsburg, Virginia 1718
Adam Thoroughgood House Virginia Beach, Virginia ca. 1719 despite earlier claims, actually dates to c. 1719[8]
Pierre Chastain Home Manakin, Virginia 1720 Oldest home in Powhatan County. French Huguenot Dr. Pierre Chastain built the home in 1720, with brick additions made in the mid-1720s
Brafferton (building) brafferton Williamsburg, Virginia 1723 Opened in 1723 as the Indian school for the College of William & Mary, restored in 1930–31, now serving as the president and provost office
Abingdon Glebe House Gloucester, Virginia Before 1724[9]
Lynnhaven House Virginia Beach, Virginia 1725 [10]
Rural Plains Hanover County, Virginia ca. 1725 Oldest home in America continuously occupied by one family; site of Patrick Henry's wedding
Berkeley Plantation Charles City County, Virginia 1726 Plantation established in 1619.
Matthew Jones House Newport News, Virginia 1727
Willowdale Painter, Virginia 1728[11] On the Eastern Shore of Virginia
Indian Banks Simonson, Virginia 1728
Margots Tettington ca. 1700–1729
Seven Springs Plantation Enfield, Virginia ca. 1725–1740
Mason House Accomack County, Virginia ca. 1729-1730 Date verified with dendrochronology
Wales
Dinwiddie, Virginia ca. 1730 The original circa 1730 hall/parlor dwelling was expanded in 1752. Built for Howell Briggs (militia captain, magistrate, and vestryman)
President's House Williamsburg, Virginia 1733 Part of the Wren Yard architectures, along with Wren and Brafferton Buildings, now the residence of the president of the College of William & Mary
Tuckahoe Plantation
Goochland 1733 Tuckahoe's original section was built in 1733. Around 1740 it was expanded to the H shape it has today.
Adam Keeling House Virginia Beach, Virginia 1735
Toddsbury Gloucester County, Virginia 1735 Tradition has suggested the home was built about 1670, however, recent excavations have yielded a mid-1700s construction date.
New Kent Ordinary New Kent Ordinary is the second brick structure from the right. New Kent, Virginia 1736
Blandford Church
Petersburg, Virginia 1736 Includes original Tiffany windows representing each southern state of the confederacy.
Shirley Plantation
Charles City County, Virginia 1738 Construction started in 1723. Plantation dates to 1614. Oldest family-owned business in North America
St. George's Church (Pungoteague, Virginia) Pungoteague, Virginia 1738 Oldest church on Virginia's eastern shore
Old Stone House (Richmond, Virginia) Richmond, Virginia 1740 Home of Edgar Allan Poe Museum
Lansdowne Urbanna, Virginia c. 1740
Bel Air Plantation Prince William County, Virginia 1740 Oldest home in Prince William County, Virginia
Old Mansion Caroline County, Virginia ca. 1741 Tree ring analysis of some beams yielded a date of 1741
Merchant's Hope Church Prince George County, Virginia ca. 1743 Despite earlier claims of 1657, a recent dendrochronological survey affirmed a date of 1743.
St. John's Episcopal Church Richmond, Virginia 1744
Middlesex County Courthouse Urbanna, Virginia 1745
Mayfield
Dinwiddie 1750 Moved from its original location a mile or so away, this is the oldest brick home in Dinwiddie county.
Aquia Church
Stafford, Virginia ca. 1750 Mid-18th-century church
Wormeley Cottage Urbanna, Virginia ca. 1750
Pear Valley Eastville, Virginia ca. 1750
Mansfield Dinwiddie, Virginia ca. 1750 Elizabeth Keckley (Mary Todd Lincoln's seamstress) was enslaved here for four years.
Hewick Plantation Urbanna, Virginia Mid-18th Century[12]
Wilton
Richmond, Virginia 1753
Fort Bowman
Fredrick County, Virginia 1753 Home of George Bowman, american pioneer
Mount Vernon Fairfax County, Virginia 1758 Home of George Washington
Sandwich Urbanna, Virginia 1758
Hunting Quarter
Sussex, Virginia 1745–1772 Home of Captain Henry Harrison, son of Benjamin Harrison IV of Berkeley.
James Mills Storehouse Urbanna, Virginia 1763–1767
Lower Brandon Plantation
Prince George, Virginia 1765 Possibly the longest running agricultural operation in the United States, having been farmed since the early 1600s.
Sessions-Pope-Sheild House Yorktown, Virginia ca. 1766 Recent Research suggests a date of around 1766, previously thought to have been built around 1691.
Eppington
Chesterfield, Virginia ca. 1768 Built by Thomas Jefferson's wife's brother in law and first cousin, Frances Eppes. Jefferson's daughters came to Eppington to live while he was Minister to France. Lucy Elizabeth died at and is buried here.
Battersea
Petersburg, Virginia 1768 Built for Colonel Jonn Banister, signer of the Articles of Confederation
The Falls Church Falls Church, Virginia 1769 The oldest house of worship in Virginia north of Quantico, completed by undertaker James Wren and received as finished by the vestry on December 20, 1769. Wren's plan was also used (with modifications) for Christ Church in Alexandria and Pohick Church in Lorton.
Morven Park Leesburg, Virginia ca. 1780 The home of Virginia Governor Westmoreland Davis. The earliest parts of the structure date from circa 1780 and was substantially expanded in the decades that followed. It is a Virginia Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Marmion Comorn, Virginia ca. 1790 Reputedly contains the remains of a much older cottage built by colonel William Fitzhugh in about 1670.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Historic Churches of America – Page 8, by Nellie Urner Wallington (1907)
  2. ^ "Belleville HABS VA No. 994" (PDF). Historic American Buildings Survey. US National Park Service. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  3. ^ Dr. Stephen Mansfield; et al., eds. (2008). "50 Most Significantly Historic Houses and Structures in Virginia Beach" (PDF). Virginia Beach Historical Preservation Partnership, City of Virginia Beach Historic Resources Office. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  4. ^ "Virginia Beach Public Library's Digital Archives". Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  5. ^ "Old Donation Church Old Homes". blog. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  6. ^ Architecture and Town Planning in Colonial North America – Page 697 by James D. Kornwolf, Georgiana Wallis Kornwolf (2002)
  7. ^ "Parish History". www.warechurch.org. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014.
  8. ^ "Thoroughgood, Adam, House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2008.
  9. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form" (PDF). September 15, 1970. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  10. ^ "Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory". Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  11. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources – Hewick. July 18, 1978. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form" (PDF). February 26, 1970. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
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