List Of The Oldest Buildings In Massachusetts
This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings surviving in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America, including the oldest houses in Massachusetts and any other surviving structures. Some dates are approximate and based upon dendochronology, architectural studies, and historical records. Sites on the list are generally from the First Period of American architecture or earlier.
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| Building | Image | Location | First Built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks House | Dedham, Massachusetts | 1637 circa | Oldest wood-frame house in America, dated using dendrochronology, and the oldest house in Massachusetts. | |
| John Humphreys House | Swampscott, Massachusetts | 1637 circa | Oldest house in Swampscott. | |
| Richard Sparrow House | Plymouth, Massachusetts | 1640 | Oldest house in Plymouth. | |
| Wing Fort House | East Sandwich, Massachusetts | 1641 | ||
| The Witch House | Salem, Massachusetts | 1642 | Also called the Jonathan Corwin House, this was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin and is the only structure still standing in Salem, Massachusetts with direct ties to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The house is now a museum operated by the City of Salem, and is open seasonally. | |
| Sturgis Library | Barnstable (village), Massachusetts | 1644 | Oldest public library building in the country. | |
| Hatch Homestead | Marshfield, Massachusetts | 1647 circa | Purportedly the oldest continuously occupied house in Massachusetts. | |
| General Israel Putnam House | Danvers, Massachusetts | 1648 | ||
| James Noyes House | Newbury, Massachusetts | 1650 | ||
| Pickering House | Salem, Massachusetts | 1651 | Oldest house in Salem still being lived in and the oldest house in U.S. occupied continuously by one family. It is located at 18 Broad Street in the Chestnut Street District. | |
| John Alden House | Duxbury, Massachusetts | 1653 | A National Historic Landmark, this is the only building still standing in the United States that was built by, and lived in by Pilgrims. Home of Pilgrim John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. | |
| Goodspeed House | Barnstable, Massachusetts | 1653 | ||
| Macy-Colby House | Amesbury, Massachusetts | 1654 | ||
| Newman-Fiske-Dodge House | Wenham, Massachusetts | 1658 | ||
| Bellingham-Cary House | Chelsea, Massachusetts | 1659 | ||
| John Partridge House | Millis, Massachusetts | 1659 | ||
| Parkman Tavern | Concord, Massachusetts | 1659 | ||
| James Blake House | Dorchester, Massachusetts | 1661 | Oldest house in Boston (dendrochronology in 2007 determined the actual construction date) | |
| Reverend James Keith Parsonage | West Bridgewater, Massachusetts | 1662 | Old Bridgewater Historical Society, the oldest parsonage and garrison house in the Americas. | |
| Job Lane House | Bedford, Massachusetts | 1664 | ||
| Pickman House | Salem, Massachusetts | 1664 | Located on Charter Street behind the Peabody Essex Museum, the oldest continually operated museum in America. The house abuts the Witch Memorial is also next to the second oldest burying ground in America. | |
| Gedney House | Salem, Massachusetts | 1665 | ||
| Alexander Standish House | Duxbury, Massachusetts | 1666 | Home of the son of Pilgrim Capt. Miles Standish. | |
| Peter Bulkeley Esq/Reuben Brown House | Concord, Massachusetts | 1667 | ||
| Jabez Howland House | Plymouth, Massachusetts | 1667 | Only extant house in Plymouth occupied by Pilgrims. John Howland and his wife, Elizabeth Tilley Howland, who both came over on the Mayflower, spent their winters here with their son, Jabez, one of their 10 children. Also a National Historic Landmark. | |
| House of the Seven Gables | Salem, Massachusetts | 1668 | National Historic Landmark, setting of the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel. | |
| Isaac Goodale House | Built in Salem, Massachusetts; moved to Ipswich, MA in 1928. | 1668 circa | On the National Register of Historic Places. | |
| Chaplin-Clarke House | Rowley, Massachusetts | 1670 | ||
| Chandler-Bigsby-Abbot House | Andover, Massachusetts | 1673 | Oldest house in Andover. | |
| Jerathmell Bowers House | Lowell, Massachusetts | 1673 | Oldest house in Lowell. | |
| Hoxie House | Sandwich, Massachusetts | 1675 circa | One of the oldest houses on Cape Cod. | |
| Narbonne House | Salem, Massachusetts | 1675 | On the Waterfront in Salem at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and owned by the National Park Service. | |
| Harlow Old Fort House | Plymouth, Massachusetts | 1677 | House built using timbers from the Pilgrims' 1621 fort. | |
| John Whipple House | Ipswich, Massachusetts | 1677 | National Historic Landmark. | |
| Peter Tufts House | Medford, Massachusetts | 1677–8 circa | Possibly the oldest brick house in the United States. | |
| John Balch House | Beverly, Massachusetts | 1679 circa | ||
| Paul Revere House | Boston, Massachusetts | 1680 circa | Oldest building in downtown Boston. | |
| Hoar Tavern | Lincoln, Massachusetts | 1680 | Oldest home in Lincoln. | |
| Old Ship Church | Hingham, Massachusetts | 1681 | Oldest church building in Massachusetts; only remaining Puritan 17th century meetinghouse in America; oldest church in continuous ecclesiastical use in America. | |
| Ironmaster's House | Saugus, Massachusetts | 1681 | Also known as the Appleton House. | |
| Cooper-Frost-Austin House | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 1682 | Oldest house in Cambridge, verified using dendrochronology. | |
| Butters-Avery House | Wilmington, Massachusetts | 1682 | Oldest building in Wilmington. | |
| Parson Capen House | Topsfield, Massachusetts | 1683 | Oldest houses in Topsfield. | |
| Pierce House (Dorchester, Massachusetts) | Dorchester, Massachusetts | 1683 | One of the oldest houses in Boston. | |
| Old Indian Meeting House | Mashpee, Massachusetts | 1684 | Oldest Native American church building in America. | |
| John Ward House | Salem, Massachusetts | 1684 | This house is a National Historic Landmark at 132 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts in the Downtown Salem District; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1968. | |
| Quincy Homestead | Quincy, Massachusetts | 1686 | Home to four generations of Quincys, including Dorothy Quincy Hancock. Maintained by Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation as well as the National Society of Colonial Dames in America in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. | |
| Jethro Coffin House | Nantucket, Massachusetts | 1686 | Oldest house on Nantucket Island. | |
| Boardman House | Saugus, Massachusetts | 1687 | Formerly known as the Scotch Boardman House. Also known as the Bennet-Boardman House. | |
| Joseph Willis House | Taunton, Massachusetts | 1688 | Oldest house in Taunton. | |
| William Murray House | Salem, Massachusetts | 1688 | A historic house at 39 Essex Street | |
| Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm | Newbury, Massachusetts | 1690 or earlier | One of the oldest stone buildings in New England. | |
| Old Jail | Barnstable, Massachusetts | 1690 | Oldest wooden prison in America. | |
| Deane Winthrop House | Winthrop, Massachusetts | between 1675 and 1690 | The original building was built about 1637 and was then rebuilt to its present size between 1675 and 1690. It belonged to Deane Winthrop, whose father John Winthrop was the first Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Currently it is owned by the Winthrop Improvement and Historical Association. This building is one of the oldest wood frame houses in the country and it is the oldest continuously lived-in home. Located at 40 Shirley Street, the Deane Winthrop House is a registered National Historic Site. | |
| Kimball Tavern | Haverhill, Massachusetts | 1692 | The Kimball Tavern is among the oldest buildings in Massachusetts, and one of the oldest buildings in the city of Haverhill. A plaque identifies it as the site of the founding of Bradford College in 1802. | |
| Sarah Cloyce House | Framingham, Massachusetts | 1693 | Fleeing from the horrors of the Salem Witch Trials, Sarah Cloyce (younger sister of Rebecca Nurse and Mary Easty) and her husband Peter fled to a portion of Thomas Danforth's estate via the Old Connecticut Path. After surviving the winter in nearby caves, they built their home in what would become Framingham, Massachusetts. | |
| Hart House | Lynnfield, Massachusetts | 1695 circa | ||
| Dwight-Derby House | Medfield, Massachusetts | 1697 | ||
| Isaac Winslow House | Marshfield, Massachusetts | 1699 | Residence of a governor of the Plymouth Colony; now a museum. | |
| Samuel Brimblecomb House | Marblehead, Massachusetts | Main house dated to 1713, one structural beam dates to 1689. | ||
| St. Michael's Church (Marblehead, Massachusetts) | Marblehead, Massachusetts | 1714 | Oldest Episcopal parish church building on its original site in New England. | |
| Boston Light | Boston | 1716 / 1783 | First lighthouse established in the USA, 1716. The current tower, built in 1783, is the second oldest existing lighthouse in the USA (after Sandy Hook Light, New Jersey. | |
| Cotting-Smith Assembly House | Salem, Massachusetts | 1782 | Located at 138 Federal Street in the Federal Street District and owned by the Peabody Essex Museum. Built as a Federalist clubhouse in which balls, concerts, lectures, and other events might be held. George Washington attended a dance here. The original architect is unknown, but the house was later remodeled by Samuel McIntire for use as a private residence. The house is in the Federal style and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. | |
| Hamilton Hall | Salem, Massachusetts | 1805 | Hamilton Hall is a National Historic Landmark at 9 Chestnut Street in Salem, Massachusetts in the Chestnut Street District. Hamilton Hall was built by Samuel McIntire and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. |
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