List of the oldest buildings in Michigan

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
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Building Image Location First Built Use 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]
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.[2]
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.
Land Office White Pigeon 1831 Government Former 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[3]
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
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.[4]
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

References
  1. "Biddle House". michmarkers.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  2. 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
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-03-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Duderstadt, Anne. "The President's House at the University of Michigan". Retrieved 16 March 2016.
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