This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings surviving in the state of North Carolina in the United States of America, including the oldest houses in North Carolina 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. 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.),
Building | Image | Location | First Built | Use | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lane House | Edenton | 1718–19 | House | Oldest house in North Carolina identified by dendrochronology; One-and-a-half stories; located in the Edenton National Register Historic District; Owned by Steve and Linda Lane.[1] | |
Sloop Point | Pender County | 1726 | House | Resembles Caribbean architecture[2] | |
Newbold-White House | Hertford | 1730 | House | Oldest brick house in North Carolina.National Register of Historic Places, 1971.[3] | |
Myers-White House | Hertford | 1730 | House | National Register of Historic Places, 1971.[4] | |
St. Thomas Church | Bath | 1734 | Religious | Oldest surviving church building in North Carolina. | |
Orton Plantation Main House | Winnabow | 1735 | House | [2] | |
St. Paul's Church | Edenton | 1736 | Church | National Register of Historic Places, 1975.[5] | |
Mitchell-Anderson House | Wilmington | ca. 1740 | House | One of the oldest houses in Wilmington.[2] | |
Woodleys Manor | Pasquotank County | ca. 1740 | House | Oldest house in Pasquotank County, oldest side-hall plan in North Carolina, and earliest known Carolina plan.[6] | |
Palmer-Marsh House | Bath | 1744 | House | National Historic Landmark. | |
Milford | Camden County | 1746 | House | Oldest two-story brick house in North Carolina. National Register of Historic Places, 1972.[7] | |
Duke-Lawrence House | Northampton County, North Carolina | 1747 | House | One of NC's oldest colonial homes. The original western frame section was built about 1747, with the eastern brick section built between 1787 and 1796. National Register of Historic Places in 1980. | |
Old Brick House | Pasquotank County | ca. 1750 | House | National Register of Historic Places, 1972.[8] | |
Hammock House | Beaufort | ca. 1700–1750 | House | Purportedly oldest house in Beaufort, NC, also known as "Blackbeard's House," some sources claim it was built between 1700–1709, based upon a carved timber in the house.[9][10] | |
Dr. Robertson House | Alamance County | ca. 1750 | House | Alamance County Architectural Inventory, 2014.[11] | |
Hampton Family House | Hamptonville, North Carolina | ca. 1757 | House | The oldest house in Yadkin County. Ref: Historical Architecture of Yadkin County North Carolina, copyright 1987; The Yadkin County Historical Society | |
Cupola House | Edenton | 1758 | House | National Register of Historic Places, 1970.[12] | |
The Owens House | Halifax | 1760 | House | Entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, this gambrel-roofed home of a merchant was built about 1760. It was named for George Owens and is the oldest structure of the Historic Halifax State Historic Site.[13] | |
Joel Lane House | Raleigh | ca. 1760–1770 | House | Oldest house in Raleigh | |
DuBoise-Boatwright House | Wilmington | 1765 | House | One of the oldest houses in Wilmington.[2] | |
Michael Braun House | Granite Quarry | 1766 | House | Also called Old Stone House. Oldest building in Rowan County.[14] | |
Chowan County Courthouse | Edenton | 1767 | Courthouse | Oldest courthouse in North Carolina. National Register of Historic Places, 1970.[15] | |
St. Philip's Church | Brunswick Town | 1768 | Church | ||
Single Brothers' House | Winston-Salem | 1769 | House | Part of Moravian settlement. | |
Burgwin-Wright House | Wilmington | 1770 | House | One of the oldest houses in Wilmington.[2] | |
Hugh Torrance House and Store | Huntersville | ca. 1779 | Store and House | The oldest standing store in North Carolina, and one of the oldest surviving structures in Mecklenburg County. | |
Patrick Gordon House | New Bern | 1771 | House | National Register, Oldest substantially unaltered house in New Bern. | |
House in the Horseshoe | Carthage | 1772 | House | Historic battle site between American Revolution loyalists and patriots. | |
Nash-Hooper House | Hillsborough | 1772 | House | National Historic Landmark, home to signatory of the Declaration of Independence. | |
Hezekiah Alexander House | Charlotte | 1774 | House | Oldest building in Charlotte. Part of the National Register of Historic Places | |
Robert Cleveland Log House | Wilkesboro | 1780 | House | Oldest house in Wilkes County.[16] | |
Alexander Long plantation house | North of Spencer, North Carolina | 1783 | House | Oldest inhabited home in Rowan County | |
Salem Tavern | Winston-Salem | 1784 | Tavern | The Tavern was the lodgings for George Washington for two nights during his Southern Tour in 1791. | |
Cool Spring Place | Fayetteville | 1788 | Tavern | Oldest building in Fayetteville.[17] | |
St. Philip's Church | Winston-Salem | 1861 | Church | Oldest African American Church building in North Carolina.[18] | |
Temple of Israel | Wilmington | 1876 | Synagogue | Oldest Jewish synagogue in North Carolina. |
See also
- List of the oldest buildings in the United States
- List of plantations in North Carolina
- National Register of Historic Places listings in North Carolina
References
- ^ "Discovery of the Oldest Dated House in North Carolina". North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. January 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Steelman, Ben (May 8, 2009). "What is the oldest house in Wilmington?". The Wilmington Star-News. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
- ^ North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
- ^ North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
- ^ North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
- ^ Kelly-Goss, Robert (November 10, 2012). "Historical treasure". The Daily Advance. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
- ^ North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
- ^ North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
- ^ Lynn Salsi, Frances Eubanks, Carteret County (Arcadia Publishing, 1999) pg. 21
- ^ Daniel W. Barefoot, Touring the Backroads of North Carolina's Lower Coast (John F. Blair, 1995) pg. 73
- ^ https://www.alamance-nc.com/planning/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2014/04/Architectural-Inventory.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
- ^ "Historic Sites: History". historicsites.nc.gov. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
- ^ "Old Stone House". Theo. Buerbaum's Salisbury. Rowan Public Library. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
- ^ North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
- ^ Robert Cleveland Log House
- ^ Survey and Planning Unit Staff (March 1972). "Cool Spring Place" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places – Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
- ^ St. Philips Moravian Church