This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings surviving in the state of Delaware in the United States of America, including the oldest houses in Delaware and any other surviving structures. Some dates are approximate and based upon dendrochronology, architectural studies, and historical records. Sites on the list are generally from the First Period of American architecture or earlier. To be listed here a site must:
- date from prior to 1776; or
- be the oldest building in a county, large city, or oldest of its type (church, government building, etc.),
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Building | Image | Location | First Built | Use | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Block House | ![]() |
Claymont, Delaware | 1654 | Defense | Possibly the oldest building in Delaware, however, some date the building to ca. 1723 |
Ryves Holt House | ![]() |
Lewes, Delaware | 1665 | Residence | Likely the oldest house in Delaware |
Town Point | ![]() |
Dover, Delaware | 1677 | Residence | |
Lombardy Hall | Wilmington, Delaware | 1683 (earliest part) | Residence | National Historic Landmark (NHL), home to Gunning Bedford Jr., a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and a signer of the U.S. Constitution. | |
Belmont Hall | ![]() |
Smyrna, Delaware | 1685 (earliest part) | Residence | large Georgian addition built about 1753 by Thomas Collins, who would become the sixth governor of Delaware. |
Hendrickson House | Wilmington, Delaware from Chester, Pennsylvania | 1690 | Residence | Moved from Chester, PA to Wilmington, DE in 1958 | |
Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes) | Wilmington, Delaware | 1698 | Religious | Oldest Swedish Church in the United States | |
Brecknock | ![]() |
Camden, Delaware | ca. 1700 | Residence | |
Dutch House | ![]() |
Newcastle, Delaware | 1701 | Residence | Built either in the mid 1690s or 1701. Historic home and museum |
Maston House | ![]() |
Seaford, Delaware | 1727 | Residence | |
New Castle County Court House | ![]() |
New Castle, Delaware | 1732 | Government | One of the oldest continuously used courthouses in America |
Prince George's Chapel | ![]() |
Dagsboro, Delaware | 1755 | Religious | Episcopal chapel of ease |
Barratt's Chapel | ![]() |
Frederica, Delaware | 1780 | Religious | Oldest Methodist church building in the U.S. |
Pratt House | Milford, Delaware | 1785 | Residential | Former home of the influential Pratt family. |
See also
- List of the oldest buildings in the United States
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Delaware