List of the oldest buildings in Michigan
Appearance
This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings in the state of Michigan in the United States. Some dates are approximate and based upon dendochronology, architectural studies, and historical records.
To be listed here a site must:
- date prior to 1850; or
- be the oldest building in a region, large city, or oldest of its type (church, government building, style, etc.)
List
[edit]Name | Image | Location | Date of Construction | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Officer's Stone Quarters of Fort Mackinac | Mackinac Island | 1780 | Military | Oldest structure within the fort and oldest building in Michigan. | |
McGulpin House | Mackinac Island | c. 1780 | Residential | Architectural style could predate 1780. Relocated in 1981. Rare example of French-Canadian architecture in Michigan. Oldest house in Michigan. | |
Biddle House | Mackinac Island | c. 1780 | Residential/fur trading | Restored in 1959.[1] | |
William Tucker Residence | Harrison Township | C.1784 | Residential | After being kidnapped and raised by a local Chippewa tribe from age eleven to age eighteen, William Tucker was given 18 square miles of land by the tribe, who later helped him build a log cabin on the land to become his residence. The home has since been refaced with brick, but parts of the original structure remain intact beneath.[2] | |
Navarre-Anderson Trading Post | Frenchtown Charter Township | 1789 | Trading post | Oldest building in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. | |
Cookhouse at Navarre-Anderson Trading Post complex | Frenchtown Charter Township | 1810 | Cookhouse, food preparation | ||
Robert Stuart House | Mackinac Island | 1817 | Residential | Home of American Fur Company agent Robert Stuart. | |
John Johnston House | Sault Ste. Marie | 1822 | Residential | Home of North West Company fur trader John Johnston. Oldest building in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. | |
John W. Hunter House | Birmingham | 1822 | Residential | ||
James H. Murray House | Linden | c. 1823 | Residential | Greek Revival house of James H. Murray. | |
Mission House | Mackinac Island | 1825 | School/residential | Missionary constructed by William Montague Ferry and operated by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to spread Christianity to Native Americans. | |
Sheldon Inn | Canton | 1825 | Residential/inn | ||
Fort Gratiot Light | Port Huron | 1825 | Lighthouse | First lighthouse constructed in Michigan. | |
Edward Loranger House | Frenchtown Charter Township | 1825 | Residential | Considered to be one of the oldest unaltered structures in Michigan. | |
Charles Trowbridge House | Detroit | 1826 | Residential | Oldest documented building in the city of Detroit.[3] | |
Musgrove Evans House | Tecumseh | 1826 | Residential | Oldest building in Lenawee County. | |
Elmwood | Sault Ste. Marie | 1827 | Indian Affairs | Relocated and renovated in 1979. | |
William Starkweather House | Plymouth | 1828 | Residential | Built by Plymouth's first settler, William Starkweather, the house at 150 S. Union Street, is the oldest house in Plymouth. It is still functional and occupied. | |
Mission Church | Mackinac Island | 1829 | Religious | Oldest surviving church In Michigan. | |
Barn at Joshua Simmons' farm | Livonia | 1829 | Farm building | ||
Wing–Allore House | Monroe | 1829 | Residential | Former home of Austin Eli Wing and his descendants. Now a funeral parlor. | |
Ward-Holland House | Marine City | 1830 | Residential | Former home of shipbuilders Samuel Ward and Robert Holland. | |
Funke-Bregger Livery | Bangor | 1830 | Residential | Former Stagecoach Livery | |
Land Office | White Pigeon | 1831 | Government | Former United States General Land Office agency on the Sauk Trail. | |
Caswell House | Troy | 1832 | Residential | ||
Murdoch Log House | Berrien Springs | 1832 | Residential | Original county seat of Berrien County. | |
Thunder Bay Island Light | Alpena | 1832 | Lighthouse | ||
Walker Tavern | Cambridge Township | c. 1832 | Residential/tavern | ||
Commandant's Quarters | Dearborn | 1833 | Military | Originally a U.S. Army supply depot. | |
Bagley Inn | Bloomfield Hills | 1833 | Residential/tavern | ||
St. Mary's Church | Monroe | 1834 | Religious | ||
Joseph Campau House | Detroit | 1835 | Residential | ||
Governor John S. Barry House | Constantine | 1835 | Residential | ||
Marantette House | Mendon | 1835 | Residential | ||
Sharon Mill | Manchester | 1835 | Agricultural | ||
Raisin Valley Friends Meetinghouse | Adrian | 1835 | Religious | ||
Ticknor-Campbell House | Ann Arbor | 1835 | Residential | ||
Old Tavern Inn | Niles | c. 1835 | Tavern | Oldest business in Michigan[4] | |
Hubbard-Kesby House | Milford | c. 1835 | Residential | ||
Botsford Inn | Farmington | 1836 | Tavern | ||
Calkins law office | Grand Rapids | 1836 | law office | ||
Orrin White House | Ann Arbor | 1836-1840 | Residential | ||
St. Marks Episcopal | Grand Rapids | 1836 | Religious | ||
Rogers Mansion | Wyoming MI | 1836 | Residential | Oldest house in Kent county. | |
Indian Dormitory | Mackinac Island | 1837 | Residential/school | Constructed as a dormitory for Native Americans visiting the Indian agency on Mackinac Island. Now known as the Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum. | |
St. Ignace Mission | St. Ignace | 1837 | Religious | Oldest Roman Catholic church in Michigan. Relocated in 1954. | |
Franklin Cider Mill | Franklin | 1837 | Agricultural | ||
Trombley House | Bay City | c. 1837 | Residential | Oldest frame house still standing in Bay County. Relocated to Veterans Memorial Park in 1981. | |
Andrews-Leggett House | Commerce Township | c. 1837 | Residential | ||
Indian Dormitory | Mackinac Island | 1838 | Residential/ Governmental | ||
Rogers house | Wyoming, MI | 1838-1839 | Residential | originally built in 1838, burned down and rebuilt in 1839. https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2015/05/the_rogers_mansion_said_to_be.html | |
Governor's Mansion | Marshall | 1839 | Residential | House built by Whig politician J. Wright Gordon in a campaign to make Marshall the state capital. | |
Berrien Springs Courthouse | Berrien Springs | 1839 | Governmental | Oldest courthouse in Michigan. | |
Judge Robert S. Wilson House | Ann Arbor | c. 1839 | Residential | ||
South Manitou Island Lighthouse | South Manitou Island | 1839-40 | Lighthouse | ||
President's House, University of Michigan | Ann Arbor | 1840 | Residential | The oldest building at Michigan's oldest university, the University of Michigan.[5] | |
Old Presque Isle Light | Presque Isle | 1840 | Lighthouse | ||
Smith's Chapel | Niles | 1840 | Religious | ||
Governor Robert McClelland House | Monroe | 1841 | Residential | Former home of Robert McClelland. | |
Joshua Simmons House | Livonia | 1841 | Residential | Another house on the farm may have been built in 1826 | |
Dougherty Mission House | Old Mission | 1842 | Residential | Oldest frame building in Grand Traverse County and one of the oldest in northern Michigan. | |
Paw Paw City Hall | Paw Paw | 1842 | Government | Relocated in 1900. | |
St. Augustine Catholic Church | Hartland Township | 1843 | Religious | ||
Paine Bank | Niles | 1843 | Commercial | ||
Ladies' Literary Club Building | Ypsilanti | c. 1843 | Residential | ||
Abram W. Pike House | Grand Rapids | 1844 | Residential | ||
Old Wing Mission | Holland | 1844 | Residential/ Religious | Originally a Presbyterian mission. Oldest house in Holland, Michigan. | |
Some buildings at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park | Copper Harbor | 1844 | Military | U.S. Army fort built to provide law enforcement and navigation on Lake Superior during the Michigan copper boom. | |
Ballard-Breakey House | Ypsilanti | 1845 | Residential | Construction may have started in 1830s | |
1244 Randolph | Detroit | c. 1845 | Commercial | A rare surviving commercial building in Detroit dating from the 1840s. | |
Rudolph Nims House | Monroe | 1846 | Residential | ||
Lapeer County Courthouse | Lapeer | 1846 | Courthouse | Oldest registered property in Lapeer County. | |
Pillar Church | Holland | 1847 | Religious | ||
Sessions Schoolhouse | Ionia | 1847 | School | Often considered the oldest schoolhouse in Michigan. Restored in 1918. | |
Barracks of Fort Wayne | Detroit | 1848 | Military | Fortress constructed due to tensions with British Canada during the Patriot War and used during the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and much of the Cold War. Oldest remaining military structure in Detroit. | |
Sibley House | Detroit | 1848 | Residential | Original home of Solomon Sibley. | |
Saints Peter and Paul Church | Detroit | 1848 | Religious | Original cathedral of the Diocese of Detroit and campus of the University of Detroit-Mercy. | |
Mariners' Church | Detroit | 1849 | Religious | Episcopal parish church in Downtown Detroit serving foreign mariners on the Great Lakes. |
See also
[edit]- List of the oldest buildings in the United States
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Michigan
References
[edit]- ^ "Biddle House". michmarkers.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE HARRISON TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL COMMISSION'S FIRST EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATION: THE LEGACY OF WILLIAM TUCKER" (PDF). April 27, 1994. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ Eric J. Hill, John Gallagher, American Institute of Architects Detroit Chapter, AIA Detroit , Wayne State University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-8143-3120-3, p.232
- ^ "Old Tavern Inn - Pure Michigan Travel". Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
- ^ Duderstadt, Anne. "The President's House at the University of Michigan". Retrieved 16 March 2016.