List of the oldest buildings in Minnesota

This article lists the oldest extant buildings in Minnesota, including extant buildings and structures constructed before and during American rule over Minnesota. Only buildings built before 1860 are suitable for inclusion on this list, or the building must be the oldest of its type.

To qualify for the list, a structure must:

  • be a recognizable building (defined as any human-made structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy);
  • incorporate features of building work from the claimed date to at least 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in height and/or be a listed building.

This consciously excludes ruins of limited height, roads and statues. Bridges may be included if they otherwise fulfill the above criteria. Dates for many of the oldest structures have been arrived at by radiocarbon dating or dendrochronology and should be considered approximate. If the exact year of initial construction is estimated, it will be shown as a range of dates.

List of oldest buildings

edit
Building Image Location First built Use Notes
Round Tower at Fort Snelling   Fort Snelling (unorganized territory), Minnesota 1820 Military Oldest building in Minnesota
Sibley House   Mendota, Minnesota 1835 Residence Oldest stone house in Minnesota; Home of Henry Hastings Sibley.[1]
Faribault House   Mendota, Minnesota 1839 Residence Residence for fur trader Jean-Baptiste Faribault; made of stone.[1]
Norway Lutheran Church   St. Paul, Minnesota 1843 Church Oldest Protestant church building in Minnesota; moved to St. Paul from Wind Lake, Wisconsin in 1904
John and Martin Mower House   Arcola, Minnesota 1847 Residence An early Greek Revival house in the St. Croix Valley
Banfill Tavern   Fridley, Minnesota 1847 Residence Residence of John Banfill, an early state legislator
Ard Godfrey House   Minneapolis, Minnesota c. 1848 Residence Oldest house in Minneapolis.
Capt. John Oliver House   Lakeland, Minnesota 1849 Residence Residence of Captain John Oliver, one of the early founders of Lakeland
1852 Town House School   Taylor Falls, Minnesota 1852 School/Town House Oldest public school in Minnesota
Saint Peter's Church (Mendota, Minnesota)   Mendota Heights, Minnesota 1853 Church Oldest church building built in Minnesota
Dupuis House   Mendota, Minnesota 1854 Residence residence for Hypolite Dupuis.[1]
Pierre Bottineau House   Maple Grove, Minnesota 1854 Residence residence of frontiersman Pierre Bottineau
Justus Ramsey Stone House   Saint Paul, Minnesota 1855–57 Residence One of oldest houses in St. Paul
Woodbury House   Anoka, Minnesota 1857 Residence Residence of Dwight Woodbury, an early settler of Anoka
Sheldon Hall aka The Beehive   Excelsior, MN 1857 Current: Residence Previously: University of St. Thomas dormitory (Relocated from Minneapolis MN)

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Rathburn, Betsy (January 14, 2019). "The Sibley House Is The Oldest Home In Minnesota And You'll Want To Visit". OnlyInYourState. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
edit