List of the oldest buildings in Virginia explained

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.

BuildingImageLocationFirst builtNotes
Jamestown ChurchJamestown, Virginiafinished by 1647church tower and foundations are all that remain from the earliest period 1639–1647.[1]
BellevilleWare Neck, Virginia1658 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 ManorVirginia Beach1640 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 CastleSurry County, Virginia1665associated with Bacon's Rebellion
WarwickAccomack County, Virginia1673
St. Mary's, WhitechapelLancaster, Virginia1675
Lowland CottageWare Neck, Virginia1676
WinonaBridgetown, Virginia1681The 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 ChurchSmithfield, Virginiaca. 1682a recent dendrochronology study confirms the preponderance of other research pointing to early 1680s construction.
RavenswoodAccomac, Virginia1683Also 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 CastleTunstall, Virginia1685–1690
Building east of main house at Elsing GreenTunstall, Virginia1690
Pinewoods (Lightfoot, Virginia)Lightfoot, Virginiaca. 1690s
Criss CrossNew Kent, Virginia1690Restored in 1953, similar to Foster's Castle nearby.
Nelson-Galt HouseWilliamsburg, Virginia1695Dendrochronology 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 ChurchYorktown, Virginia1697
Dogham, DoggamsCharles City County, Virginiacirca 1700 or 1652
The HermitageVirginia Beach, Virginia1700
Belle Air PlantationCharles City County, Virginiaca. 1700
John Weblin HouseVirginia Beach1700
Westerhouse HouseNorthampton County, Virginiaca. 1700
Wren BuildingWilliamsburg, Virginia1700Oldest school building in America, original College of William and Mary structure[6]
St. Peter's ChurchNew Kent, Virginia1703Church of Martha Washington, George and Martha Washington may have been married here
Yeocomico ChurchTucker Hill, Virginia1706National Historic Landmark
Bruton Parish ChurchWilliamsburg, Virginia1715Church established in 1674, current structure completed in 1715
Peyton Randolph HouseWilliamsburg, Virginia1715Oldest portions dated to 1715, current structure includes later additions and reconstructions. Colonial National Parkway passes below it.
Ware Parish ChurchGloucester Courthouse, Virginia1718Episcopal Church. Previously thought to have been constructed in 1690, mortar samples give a date of 1718 [7]
Brush-Everard HouseWilliamsburg, Virginia1718
Adam Thoroughgood HouseVirginia Beach, Virginiaca. 1719despite earlier claims, actually dates to c. 1719[8]
Pierre Chastain HomeManakin, Virginia1720Oldest home in Powhatan County. French Huguenot Dr. Pierre Chastain built the home in 1720, with brick additions made in the mid-1720s
Brafferton (building)Williamsburg, Virginia1723Opened 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 HouseGloucester, VirginiaBefore 1724[9]
Lynnhaven HouseVirginia Beach, Virginia1725 [10]
Rural PlainsHanover County, Virginiaca. 1725Oldest home in America continuously occupied by one family; site of Patrick Henry's wedding
Berkeley PlantationCharles City County, Virginia1726Plantation established in 1619.
Matthew Jones HouseNewport News, Virginia1727
WillowdalePainter, Virginia1728[11] On the Eastern Shore of Virginia
Indian BanksSimonson, Virginia1728
MargotsTettingtonca. 1700–1729
Seven Springs PlantationEnfield, Virginiaca. 1725–1740
Mason HouseAccomack County, Virginiaca. 1729-1730Date verified with dendrochronology
WalesDinwiddie, Virginiaca. 1730The original circa 1730 hall/parlor dwelling was expanded in 1752. Built for Howell Briggs (militia captain, magistrate, and vestryman)
President's HouseWilliamsburg, Virginia1733Part of the Wren Yard architectures, along with Wren and Brafferton Buildings, now the residence of the president of the College of William & Mary
Tuckahoe PlantationGoochland1733Tuckahoe's original section was built in 1733. Around 1740 it was expanded to the H shape it has today.
Adam Keeling HouseVirginia Beach, Virginia1735
ToddsburyGloucester County, Virginia1735Tradition has suggested the home was built about 1670, however, recent excavations have yielded a mid-1700s construction date.
New Kent OrdinaryNew Kent, Virginia1736
Blandford ChurchPetersburg, Virginia1736Includes original Tiffany windows representing each southern state of the confederacy.
Shirley PlantationCharles City County, Virginia1738Construction started in 1723. Plantation dates to 1614. Oldest family-owned business in North America
St. George's Church (Pungoteague, Virginia)Pungoteague, Virginia1738Oldest church on Virginia's eastern shore
Old Stone House (Richmond, Virginia)Richmond, Virginia1740Home of Edgar Allan Poe Museum
LansdowneUrbanna, Virginiac. 1740
Bel Air PlantationPrince William County, Virginia1740Oldest home in Prince William County, Virginia
Old MansionCaroline County, Virginiaca. 1741Tree ring analysis of some beams yielded a date of 1741
Merchant's Hope ChurchPrince George County, Virginiaca. 1743Despite earlier claims of 1657, a recent dendrochronological survey affirmed a date of 1743.
St. John's Episcopal ChurchRichmond, Virginia1744
Middlesex County CourthouseUrbanna, Virginia1745
MayfieldDinwiddie1750Moved from its original location a mile or so away, this is the oldest brick home in Dinwiddie county.
Aquia ChurchStafford, Virginiaca. 1750Mid-18th-century church
Wormeley CottageUrbanna, Virginiaca. 1750
Pear ValleyEastville, Virginiaca. 1750
MansfieldDinwiddie, Virginiaca. 1750Elizabeth Keckley (Mary Todd Lincoln's seamstress) was enslaved here for four years.
Hewick PlantationUrbanna, VirginiaMid-18th Century[12]
WiltonRichmond, Virginia1753
Fort BowmanFredrick County, Virginia1753Home of George Bowman, american pioneer
Mount VernonFairfax County, Virginia1758Home of George Washington
SandwichUrbanna, Virginia1758
Hunting QuarterSussex, Virginia1745–1772Home of Captain Henry Harrison, son of Benjamin Harrison IV of Berkeley.
James Mills StorehouseUrbanna, Virginia1763–1767
Lower Brandon PlantationPrince George, Virginia1765Possibly the longest running agricultural operation in the United States, having been farmed since the early 1600s.
Sessions-Pope-Sheild HouseYorktown, Virginiaca. 1766Recent Research suggests a date of around 1766, previously thought to have been built around 1691.
EppingtonChesterfield, Virginiaca. 1768Built 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.
BatterseaPetersburg, Virginia1768Built for Colonel Jonn Banister, signer of the Articles of Confederation
The Falls ChurchFalls Church, Virginia1769The 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 ParkLeesburg, Virginiaca. 1780The 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.
MarmionComorn, Virginiaca. 1790Reputedly contains the remains of a much older cottage built by colonel William Fitzhugh in about 1670.[13]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Historic Churches of America – Page 8, by Nellie Urner Wallington (1907)
  2. Web site: Belleville HABS VA No. 994. Historic American Buildings Survey. US National Park Service. 25 April 2019.
  3. Web site: 50 Most Significantly Historic Houses and Structures in Virginia Beach. 2008. Dr. Stephen Mansfield. Virginia Beach Historical Preservation Partnership, City of Virginia Beach Historic Resources Office. 2015-04-14. etal.
  4. Web site: Virginia Beach Public Library's Digital Archives. 2015-04-14.
  5. Web site: Old Donation Church Old Homes. blog. 2014-06-25.
  6. Architecture and Town Planning in Colonial North America – Page 697by James D. Kornwolf, Georgiana Wallis Kornwolf (2002)
  7. Web site: Parish History . www.warechurch.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141229232518/http://www.warechurch.org/The_History_of_Ware_Church/Church_History/ . 2014-12-29.
  8. Web site: Thoroughgood, Adam, House . June 27, 2008 . National Historic Landmark summary listing . National Park Service . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121006162410/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=700&ResourceType=Building . October 6, 2012.
  9. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form . . 15 September 1970 . 25 April 2019.
  10. Web site: Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory . 10 January 2020.
  11. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. 2007. 2019-02-25. etal.
  12. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form . . 18 July 1978 . Virginia Department of Historic Resources – Hewick . 25 April 2019.
  13. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form . . 26 February 1970 . 25 April 2019.