This article attempts to list the oldest extant, freestanding buildings in the state of Wisconsin. Some dates are approximate and based on architectural studies and historical records; other dates are based on dendrochronology. All entries should include citation with reference to: architectural features indicative of the date of construction; a report by an architectural historian; or dendrochronology. If the exact year of initial construction is estimated, it will be shown as a range of dates.
To be listed here a site must:
- date from prior to 1840; or
- be the oldest building in a county, large city, or oldest of its type (church, government building, etc.).
List
| Building | Image | Location | Original location (if different) | First built | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tank Cottage |  | Heritage Hill State Historical Park, Allouez | Green Bay | 1776[1]—1803[2] | Residential | Possibly the oldest extant building in Wisconsin.[a] Voyageur Joseph Roi built the cottage using the pièce-sur-pièce à coulisse method, which was once common in French-Canadian architecture. Originally located on the Fox River in Green Bay, the cottage was moved to Heritage Hill State Historical Park in 1976.[1] |
| Fur Trade Cabin |  | Heritage Hill State Historical Park, Allouez | Green Bay | 1800—1810[4] | Residential | Constructed by French-Canadian fur traders in Green Bay using the pièce-sur-pièce à coulisse method, this cabin was discovered to be part of a larger house scheduled for demolition to clear land for a bridge over the Fox River. The cottage was moved to Heritage Hill State Historical Park in 1975.[5] |
| Strange Powers House |  | Prairie du Chien | 1800–1820 | Residential | Built using the pièce-sur-pièce à coulisse method common in early 19th century French-Canadian architecture, the exact date of this building's construction is uncertain. When Zebulon Pike visited the area in 1805, he noted at least eight buildings similar to the Strange Powers house in Prairie du Chien; it is not certain if the house was one of the buildings that Pike saw, or if it was built by early settler Strange Powers, who purchased the lot in 1818.[6] | |
| Francois Vertefeuille House |  | Prairie du Chien | 1810–1820 | Residential | Built by French-Canadian fur traders using the pièce-sur-pièce à coulisse method between 1810 and 1820.[7] | |
| Fort Howard Officers' Quarters |  | Heritage Hill State Historical Park, Allouez | Green Bay | 1816–1817[8] or 1831–1835[9] | Military | One of the buildings of Fort Howard in Green Bay, the U.S. Army built the Fort Howard Officers' Quarters in the Federal style and garrisoned the fort until 1852. The building was donated to the Brown County Historical Association in 1952 and relocated to Heritage Hill State Historical Park in 1975.[8] |
| Fort Howard Hospital |  | Heritage Hill State Historical Park, Allouez | Green Bay | 1816–1817[10] or 1834–1835[9] | Military | One of the buildings of Fort Howard in Green Bay, the U.S. Army built the Fort Howard Hospital in the Federal style and garrisoned the fort until 1852. The building was relocated to Heritage Hill State Historical Park in 1975.[10] |
| Fort Howard Hospital Ward |  | Heritage Hill State Historical Park, Allouez | Green Bay | 1816–1817[11] or 1834–1835[9] | Military | One of the buildings of Fort Howard in Green Bay, the Fort Howard Hospital Ward functioned as part of the fort hospital. The U.S. Army built the structure in the Federal style and garrisoned the fort until 1852. The building was relocated to Heritage Hill State Historical Park in 1975.[11] |
| Fort Winnebago Surgeon's Quarters |  | Portage | 1818–1828 | Residential/fur trading/military | Originally the home of French-Canadian fur trader Francois LeRoi, the U.S. Army bought the structure in 1828 and used it as one of the original buildings of Fort Winnebago.[12] | |
| Dodge Mining Camp Cabin |  | Dodgeville | 1827 | Residential | Remaining building of a lead mining and smelting camp organized by Henry Dodge, who would go on to become the first governor of the Wisconsin Territory and first U.S. senator from the state of Wisconsin. Lead mining was one of the major industries in Wisconsin's early history.[13] | |
| Astor Fur Warehouse |  | Prairie du Chien | 1828 | Fur trade | Built in 1828 by Jean Joseph Rolette, an agent of the American Fur Company, the warehouse is a National Historic Landmark and the only known surviving fur trade warehouse in the upper Mississippi valley.[14] | |
| 18F Shake Rag Street | Mineral Point | c. 1828 | Residential | Part of the Mineral Point Historic District.[15] | ||
| Mark Ingraham House, 28 Shake Rag Street | Mineral Point | c. 1830 | Residential | One-story limestone cabin built by Cornish lead miners in southwestern Wisconsin. Today a part of the Mineral Point Historic District.[15] | ||
| Baird Law Office |  | Heritage Hill State Historical Park, Allouez | Green Bay | 1831 or 1835 | Business | Greek Revival structure built by Samuel Wooten Beall at the Main and Monroe Streets in Green Bay. Housed law office of Henry Samuel Baird from 1841 to 1865, and was moved to Heritage Hill State Historical Park in 1975.[16][17] |
| Old Indian Agency House |  | Portage | 1832 | Government/residential | The house was the residence for John H. Kinzie, who served as an Indian Sub-agent to the Ho-Chunk.[18] | |
| Fort Howard Guard House |  | Heritage Hill State Historical Park, Allouez | Green Bay | 1833–1835 | Military | One of the buildings of Fort Howard in Green Bay, the lower floor of guard house functioned as the fort's sally port and prison, while the upper floor housed the commanding officer's office and the fort library. After the U.S. Army stopped garrisoning the fort, the building served as a private residence in Green Bay until Heritage Hill State Park acquired the structure in 2009 and moved it to the park.[9][19] |
| Prairie Spring Hotel |  | Willow Springs | 1834 | Hotel/residential | Built by Daniel Morgan Parkinson, a settler from Tennessee, the Prairie Spring Hotel's construction is more typical of the vernacular style seen in the early 19th century Southeastern United States. The structure served as an inn on the road from Galena, Illinois to Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and was later the homestead of the Parkinson family.[20] | |
| American Fur Company post |  | La Pointe | 1835 | Fur trade | In the early 19th century, the American Fur Company maintained a trading post on Madeline Island in the Apostle Islands. A small warehouse remains from that complex of buildings and today is part of the Madeline Island Museum.[21] | |
| Cothren House | Mineral Point | Blue River | c. 1835 | Residential | 1.5-story wooden cabin originally located in Blue River, Wisconsin. Moved to Mineral Point in the 1970s.[15][22] | |
| Gratiot House |  | Shullsburg | 1835 | Residential | Built by Indian agent and entrepreneur Henry Gratiot in the vernacular Georgian style. The house is the last remaining structure of Gratiot's Grove, a lead mining settlement that thrived in the 1820s and 1830s.[23] | |
| Henry Merrell House |  | Portage | 1835–1839 | Residential | Residence of Henry Merrill (also spelled Merrell), sutler and postmaster for Fort Winnebago along the Portage Canal. Built 1835 to 1839 in Greek Revival style, originally across the canal from the fort.[24] | |
| John Harris Cottage |  | Mineral Point | c. 1835 | Residential | One-story cabin built by Cornish lead miners in southwestern Wisconsin.[15] | |
| Pendarvis House and Trelawny House |  | Mineral Point | c. 1835 | Residential | Limestone cabins built by Cornish lead miners in southwestern Wisconsin. Today the houses are a part of the Pendarvis Historic Site.[25] | |
| Polperro House |  | Mineral Point | c. 1835 | Residential | 2.5-story cabin built by Cornish lead miners in southwestern Wisconsin. First floor is limestone with upper 1.5 stories made of wood. Today a part of the Pendarvis Historic Site.[25] | |
| Second Fort Crawford Military Hospital |  | Prairie du Chien | 1835 | Military | Built by Col. Zachary Taylor between 1829 and 1835. The original Fort Crawford was built in 1816in the aftermath of the War of 1812. After the Winnebago War of 1827, the U.S. Army decided to build a larger fort, which was garrisoned from 1829 to 1856, temporarily reactivated during the Civil War, and then permanently abandoned in 1865. The hospital was separate from the military installation and is the only surviving building.[26] | |
| Denniston House |  | Cassville | 1836 | Government/hotel | Built in 1836 when the Wisconsin Territorial legislature was in the process of choosing a state capital, Denniston House was designed to house the territorial Supreme Court in the hopes that Cassville would be chosen as the seat of government. Cassville was passed over, and the building sat vacant for 18 years until Nelson Dewey bought the building in 1854 and opened it as a hotel.[27] | |
| First Capitol Historic Site |  | Belmont | 1836 | Government | The legislature of the Wisconsin Territory held its first session in Belmont on October 25, 1836. Much of the session was spent deciding on a new location for the territorial capital, and the legislature never reconvened in the Belmont capitol building after 1836. The buildings were later used as private residences and livestock barns.[28][29] | |
| Walker House | Mineral Point | 1836 | Hotel | Oldest hotel in Mineral Point. Constructed of limestone in three parts, the first in 1836 and the last completed in 1860. Part of the Mineral Point Historic District.[15] | ||
| Pottawatomie Lighthouse privy | Rock Island | 1836 | Sanitation | The outhouse for the original Pottawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island still stands on the lighthouse grounds and is the oldest-known building in Door County.[30] | ||
| Bendickson cabin |  | Wind Lake | 1837 | Residential | Built by Norwegian immigrant Halvor Bendickson in 1837, the structure is one of the oldest buildings in Racine County. It is one of several structures built by early Norwegian immigrants that are preserved in Heg Memorial Park.[31][32] | |
| Brisbois House |  | Prairie du Chien | c. 1837 | Residential | The two-and-a-half-story structure is a rare example of Federal-style architecture from the Wisconsin territorial period.[33] Some early 20th century sources promoted unsubstantiated claims that the house was built as early as 1808 or 1815, but an assessment by the U.S. Landmark Review Project in 1984 determined that the building's style and construction was more typical of the late 1830s and early 1840s.[34] | |
| Hazelwood |  | Green Bay | 1837 | Residential | Built in 1837, Hazelwood was the home of early Wisconsin political Morgan Lewis Martin, who drafted the Constitution of Wisconsin. The building is owned by the Brown County Historical Association and is a museum.[35] | |
| Mill House | Sheboygan Falls | 1837 | Residential/hotel | Two-story wood-frame Greek Revival structure built by the Rochester Lumber Company in 1837 as a boarding house for workers. Also functioned as an inn for settlers arriving in the area. Part of the Cole Historic District in Sheboygan Falls.[36] | ||
| Mitchell-Rountree House |  | Platteville | 1837 | Residential | 1.5-story cottage built in 1837 of carefully fit dolomite for Rev. Samuel Mitchell in a style from his native Virginia. Mitchell had served in the Revolutionary War. John Rountree, founder of Platteville and husband of Mitchell's daughter, probably built the house.[37][38] | |
| St. Germain dit Gauthier House |  | Prairie du Chien | 1837–1840 | Residential | Built by French-Canadian immigrants. Owned by the City of Prairie du Chien.[39] | |
| 209 Commerce Street cottage | Mineral Point | 1838–1839 | Residential | Two-story limestone cabin built by Cornish lead miners in southwestern Wisconsin. Part of the Mineral Point Historic District.[15] | ||
| Joseph Goodrich Log Cabin | Milton | 1838 | Residential/hotel | One-and-a-half-story log cabin built by Joseph Goodrich in 1838. In 1844, Goodrich built the Milton House hotel near the cabin and connected the buildings via an underground tunnel. The site was a safe house on the Underground Railroad, and enslaved African-Americans used the tunnel as a hiding place. As of 2020, the cabin is part of the Milton House museum.[40] | ||
| Gredler-Gramins House |  | Brookfield | 1839 | Residential | Benjamin Carpenter built the initial fieldstone house in 1839. In 1850 John Gredler expanded that building with a 2-story brick Greek Revival-styled front, producing a saltbox form.[41][42] | |
| Isham Day House |  | Mequon | 1839 | Residential | One of the oldest known buildings in Ozaukee County, the cottage was built by Yankee Isham Day in 1839, before the influx of German immigration in the 1840s. The construction is unusual, with walls framed in vertical sawn timbers joined by mortise and tenon and infilled with brick.[43][44] | |
| Odd Fellows Hall |  | Mineral Point | 1839 | Fraternal meeting place | Wooden Greek Revival structure built as a meeting place for the Iowa Lodge No. 1 chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Still used by the organization, it is reputed to be the oldest chapter west of the Allegheny Mountains. Part of the Mineral Point Historic District.[15] | |
| St. Peter's Catholic Church |  | Old World Wisconsin, Eagle | Milwaukee | 1839 | Church | The first Catholic Church in Milwaukee, originally named St. Luke's and located on the corner of Jackson Street and Martin Street (now State Street) in the East Town neighborhood. The building relocated to the grounds of Saint Francis de Sales Seminary c. 1940. It was later moved to the Old World Wisconsin open-air museum.[45][46] |
| Blue house |  | Nashotah | 1842 | Academic | The Blue House was the first building of the Nashotah House Episcopal seminary, constructed in 1842 by the missionary James Lloyd Breck and his followers. The Chapel of St. Sylvanus, located next to the Blue House, was constructed in 1843.[47][48] | |
| Hickory Hill House | Madison | 1842 | Residential | Possibly the oldest extant building in Madison, Wisconsin, the Hickory Hill House was built from local sandstone by John G. Hicks, a farmer who came to Wisconsin from New York.[49][50] | ||
| Benjamin Church House |  | Shorewood | Milwaukee | 1843–1844 | Residential | The oldest extant house in Milwaukee County.[b] Originally located on 4th Street in Downtown Milwaukee, the building was moved to Estabrook Park in 1939.[53] |
| Middle College |  | Beloit | 1847 | Academic | The first building constructed on the Beloit College campus, Middle College is the oldest academic building still in use in Wisconsin[54] and serves as the college's administrative offices.[55] | |
| North Hall |  | Madison | 1851 | Academic | Oldest extant building at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[56] | |
| Pottawatomie Light | .jpg) | Rock Island | 1858 | Lighthouse | Oldest extant lighthouse in Wisconsin. Built in 1858 to replace an older structure from 1836.[57] | |
| Gates of Heaven Synagogue |  | Madison | 1863 | Synagogue | Oldest extant synagogue in Wisconsin and eighth-oldest synagogue building in the United States.[58] | |
| Unity Chapel |  | Wyoming | 1886 | Religious | Frank Lloyd Wright's earliest architectural work. Designed by Joseph Lyman Silsbee's Chicago architectural office in 1886. Wright designed the interior.[59] |
See also
References
Informational notes
Citations
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