This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings in the state of Alabama in the United States. Some dates are approximate and based upon dendochronology, architectural studies, and historical records. The area that is now Alabama was originally inhabited by Native Americans. The settlement of Mobile began in 1702 as the first capital of the colony of French Louisiana, and the region was colonized and traded between French, British, Spanish, and American forces during the 1700s. No documented buildings remain standing in the state from this period, though Fort Toulouse has been accurately reconstructed. There is one remaining example nearby, the 1757 french colonial LaPointe-Krebs House in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The oldest existing structures within the state reflect a wave of American settlement into the Tennessee River valley, including the establishment of Huntsville in 1805.
To be listed here a site must:
| Building | Image | Location | First built | Type | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippian Mounds, e.g. Moundville | Throughout state | 800–1600 | Earthen mounds | Though no original Native American buildings remain above ground, a number of constructed platform mounds have been preserved including the 58 ft tall Mound B at the Moundville Site. | ||
| Joel Eddins House | Huntsville | 1808 | House | The oldest documented building in the state. This European American influenced log cabin was moved from Ardmore, Alabama to its current location at Burritt on the Mountain museum in 2007.[1] [2] | ||
| Jude-Crutcher House | Huntsville | 1812 | House | Second oldest building and oldest surviving log dogtrot style house in the state. The breezeway has been enclosed and the exterior is now covered in clapboard.[3] [4] 2132 Winchester Rd NW, Huntsville AL, 35810 | ||
| Poplar Grove (LeRoy Pope House) | Huntsville | 1813 | House | The third oldest building in the state, and the oldest masonry building in the state. Constructed by LeRoy Pope, the "Father of Huntsville", and visited by General Andrew Jackson on his return from the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.[5] The original federal style facade has seen the later addition of a Greek Revival portico. | ||
| Urquhart House | Huntsville | 1813 | House | Tied with Poplar Grove as third oldest building in the state. Vacant.[6] 199 Routt Rd, Toney, Alabama, 35773 | ||
| Perkins-Winston House | Huntsville | 1815 | House | Early Huntsville home.[7] | ||
| William Reed House | Birmingham | 1816 | House | Early homestead.[8] [9] 888 Twin Lake Dr NE Birmingham, AL 35215, United States | ||
| Hill of Howth | Boligee | 1816 | House | Early homestead.[10] | ||
| Rev Thomas Newton House | Ashville | 1817 | House | Early homestead.[11] [12] Barton Lane, Asheville AL 35953, United States | ||
| Lucas Tavern (Old Alabama Town) | Montgomery | 1818 | Tavern/Inn | Oldest surviving tavern in the state and the oldest building in the city of Montgomery. It is famous for hosting the Marquis de Lafayette during his 1825 trip through Alabama. Now stands at Old Alabama Town.[13] | ||
| John Looney House | Ashville | 1818 | House | The oldest two story dogtrot house in the state.[14] | ||
| Cedarwood | Moundville | 1818 | House | Possibly the earliest surviving plantation in the black belt region of Alabama. Restored and relocated to The University of West Alabama in Livingston .[15] [16] | ||
| Hickman Cabin (Joseph Wheeler Plantation) | Wheeler | 1818 | House | A log dogtrot home.[17] | ||
| Erskine House | Huntsville | 1818 | House | Early Huntsville home.[18] 517 Franklin St SE, Huntsville, AL 35801, United States | ||
| Phelps-Jones House | Huntsville | 1818 | House | Early Huntsville home.[19] | ||
| The Molett House | Orrville | 1819 | House | The oldest house in Alabama owned and occupied by the family that built it. It is also documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), 1934. | ||
| Sadler House | McCalla | 1819 | House | This home may have originally consisted of an circa 1819 log pen that was later expanded upon.[20] | ||
| Weeden House | Huntsville | 1819 | House | Early Huntsville home.[21] | ||
| McGuire-Strickland House | Tuscaloosa | 1820 | House | The oldest building in the city of Tuscaloosa.[22] | ||
| Goode–Hall House | Town Creek | 1824 | House | This Tennessee Valley plantation house is one of the deep South's outstanding expressions of Jeffersonian Palladian architecture.[23] | ||
| G&J Sutherland Store | Tuscumbia | 1824 | Store | Possibly the state's oldest surviving commercial building. The white building in the picture, its exterior details have been changed with time.[24] | ||
| Masonic Lodge #3 | Perdue Hill | 1824 | Courthouse/Masonic Lodge | Former courthouse and Masonic lodge originally built in Claiborne, one of early Alabama's largest settlements. Visited and reportedly dedicated by the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825 during his tour of the United States. Moved to its present location in Perdue Hill in 1884.[25] [26] | ||
| Indian Springs Baptist Church | McWilliams | 1825 | Church | Possibly the state's oldest surviving religious building.[27] [28] Indian Springs Road, Beatrice, AL 36425, United States | ||
| Old Rock Jail | Rockford | 1825 | Jail | The state's oldest jail.[29] | ||
| Lassiter House | Autaugaville | 1825 | House | One of the state's earliest examples of the I-house form.[30] | ||
| Vincent-Doan House | Mobile | 1827 | House | The state's oldest surviving example of French colonial influenced architecture and the oldest building in the city of Mobile.[31] | ||
| John McMahon House | Courtland | 1828 | House | Architecturally significant example of an early Alabama Federal-style structure that reflects the carryover of Atlantic Seaboard architectural forms introduced by Virginia settlers.[32] | ||
| Bride's Hill | Wheeler | 1828 | House | Oldest surviving example of a Tidewater-type cottage in Alabama. Vacant. | ||
| Dancy-Polk House | Decatur | 1829 | House | Oldest building in the city of Decatur.[33] | ||
| Collins-Marston House | Mobile | 1832 | House | Possibly the state's oldest surviving example of a creole cottage style house. | ||
| Old State Bank | Decatur | 1833 | Bank | The first state bank and oldest bank building in the state. | ||
| Barton Academy | Mobile | 1836 | School | The first public school in the state of Alabama.[34] | ||
| Somerville Courthouse | Somerville | 1837 | Courthouse | The oldest surviving masonry courthouse in the state.[35] The structure bears much resemblance to the first Alabama state house, once located in Cahawba. | ||
| Arlington Antebellum Home & Gardens | Birmingham | 1845 | House | The oldest building in the city of Birmingham.[36] | ||
| Langdon Hall | Auburn | 1846 | Church | The oldest building in the city of Auburn.[37] | ||
| Old Shelby County Courthouse | Columbiana | 1854 | Courthouse | Original courthouse for the county of Shelby County, replaced by a larger marble courthouse in 1908. The structure still stands and is currently the Shelby County Museum and Archives.[38] | ||
| Bryce Hospital | Tuscaloosa | 1861 | Mental Health Institution | Alabama's first and oldest state mental health facility. | ||
| Rickwood Field | Birmingham | 1910 | Baseball park | The oldest surviving professional baseball park in the United States. |
Issac Bett House, Burnt Corn Alabama[39]
The existing house once located at 308 Conti Street (now moved) in Mobile may contain portions of a 1796 structure.[40]
Sandy Hill Plantation
The Oaks
Shelby Hotel