List of the oldest buildings in Illinois

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This article lists the oldest extant buildings in Illinois, including extant buildings and structures constructed prior to and during the United States rule over Illinois. Only buildings built prior to 1830 are suitable for inclusion on this list, or the building must be the oldest of its type.

Contents

In order to qualify for the list, a structure must:

This consciously excludes ruins of limited height, roads and statues. Bridges may be included if they otherwise fulfill the above criteria. Dates for many of the oldest structures have been arrived at by radiocarbon dating or dendrochronology and should be considered approximate. If the exact year of initial construction is estimated, it will be shown as a range of dates.

List of oldest buildings

BuildingImageLocationFirst builtUseNotes
Old Cahokia Courthouse Old Cahokia Courthouse.JPG Cahokia Heights, Illinois 1737Residence/CourthouseOldest building in Illinois. French Canadian Court House [1]
Fort de Chartres Powder Magazine Fort de Chartres powder magazine 1-02Aug07.jpg Randolph County, Illinois c. 1750MilitaryOldest stone building in Illinois; French military fortification
Church of the Holy Family (Cahokia Heights, Illinois) OldHolyFamilyCahokia.jpg Cahokia Heights, Illinois 1786-1799ChurchFrench Canadian church [2]
Martin–Boismenue House Boismenue1.jpg East Carondelet 1790ResidentialOne of the oldest surviving French Colonial structures in Illinois.
Creole House Creole House in Prairie du Rocher.jpg Prairie du Rocher, Illinois c. 1800ResidenceOne of the oldest surviving French colonial homes in Prairie du Rocher.
Pierre Menard Home Pierre Menard House 3342.jpg near Kaskaskia, Illinois c. 1802ResidenceOldest former home of a former state government official (Pierre Menard) standing in the state
Kirkpatrick House Edwardsville, Illinois 1805ResidenceOldest house in Edwardsville and Madison County which was built by the founder of Edwardsville Thomas Kirkpatrick [3]
Nicholas Jarrot Mansion JarrotMansion.jpg Cahokia Heights, Illinois 1807–1810ResidenceFrench trapper's Federal style house [4]
James Lemen House New Design, Illinois c. 1810ResidenceOldest brick house in Monroe County and only surviving building from the New Design settlement [5]
Rose Hotel Rose Hotel in Elizabethtown.jpg Elizabethtown, Illinois 1812HotelOldest hotel in the state
Robinson-Stewart House Robinson-Stewart House.jpg Carmi, Illinois 1814ResidenceOldest building in Carmi
Daniel Tolman House Daniel Tolman House.jpg Edwardsville, Illinois 1819ResidenceSecond oldest building in Edwardsville [6]
Benjamin Stephenson House Benjamin Stephenson House (front).JPG Edwardsville, Illinois 1820ResidenceHome of territorial Illinois delegate Benjamin Stephenson
Black Homestead Farm Black Homestead Farm.jpg Greene County, Illinois 1821ResidenceOldest standing house in Greene County
Clayville Tavern Image Broadwell Inn, Clayville.jpeg Clayville, Illinois 1824TavernTavern built by John Broadwell
Dowling House Galena Illinois Dowling House P214.jpg Galena, Illinois 1826-27ResidenceOldest building in Galena
Ratcliff Inn Ratcliff Inn at Carmi.jpg Carmi, Illinois 1828ResidenceBuilt for Carmi founder James Ratcliff
Hodges House Hodges House in Carrollton.jpg Carrollton, Illinois 1829ResidenceOldest house in Carrollton
John Patton Log Cabin Lexington Il John Patton Log Cabin2.JPG Lexington, Illinois 1829ResidenceOne of the oldest buildings in McLean County, Illinois
Beecher Hall Beecher Hall.jpg Jacksonville, Illinois 1829-1830College BuildingOldest college building in Illinois and the first built in the state
Mermaid House Hotel Mermaid House Hotel.JPG Lebanon, Illinois 1830HotelBuilt by Lyman Adams. Visited by Charles Dickens in 1842.
Noble–Seymour–Crippen House Noble-Seymour-Crippen House 5.JPG Chicago, Illinois 1833ResidenceThe oldest building in Chicago
Vandalia State House Vandalia State House, the oldest surviving State House in Illinois located in Illinois original capital city. 01.jpg Vandalia, Illinois 1836Capitol BuildingOldest state capitol building in Illinois
Old St. Patrick's Church Chicago - St. Patrick's Church - 1.jpg Chicago 1854ChurchOldest surviving church in Chicago
University Hall University Hall, Northwestern University.jpg Evanston 1869College buildingOldest building on the campus of Northwestern University
Delaware Building Delaware Building Chicago 2.JPG Chicago 1872Commercial
Berghoff Buildings Berghoff1.JPG Chicago 1872CommercialThree buildings currently occupied by the Berghoff restaurant
Page Brothers Building Page Brothers.JPG Chicago 1872CommercialThe building features Chicago's last remaining cast iron façade
Harker Hall HarkerHall Urbana Illinois 4557.jpg Urbana 1877College buildingOldest building in use on the campus of the University of Illinois
Manhattan Building
2010-03-03 2000x3000 chicago manhattan building.jpg
Chicago 1889–1891CommercialOldest surviving skyscraper in the world. Currently residential condominiums.

See also

References

  1. "Doors close at Dana-Thomas House". Springfield, Ill. State Journal-Register. December 1, 2008.
  2. Green, Susan. Great Historic Places. Simon & Schuster, 1980
  3. "Kirkpatrick House". www.idaillinois.org. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  4. "NHL nomination for Nicholas Jarrot Mansion". National Park Service. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  5. "James Lemen House, State Highway 3, Waterloo, Monroe County, IL". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  6. "The Tolman, Bowers, and Todd Building – Madison Historical" . Retrieved January 26, 2024.