This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings surviving in the state of New Jersey in the United States of America, including the oldest houses in New Jersey 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:
Building | Image | Place | Year | Purpose | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C. A. Nothnagle Log House | Gibbstown | 1638–43 | c.Residence | Purportedly the oldest surviving log house in the U.S., once part of New Sweden, and the oldest house in NJ, and hence Gloucester County[1][2] | |
Swedish Granary[3][4] | Hopewell |
1650/1780s | Relocated. Once part of New Sweden, purportedly the oldest surviving building of its type in the US and likely oldest structure in Cumberland County[1] Dendrochronology study from 2018 states a date in the 1780s.[5] | ||
Sip Manor[6][7][8] | Jersey City Westfield |
1666 | Residence | Originally part of Bergen, New Netherland, relocated in 1926 from Hudson County[9][10] and now oldest building in Union County[11][12] | |
Parker Homestead | Little Silver | 1667 | Residence | One of the oldest homes in Monmouth County[13] | |
Old Mill at Tinton Falls | Tinton Falls | 1674 | c.Mill | ||
Obisquahassit[14][15][1] | Lower Penns Neck | 1678 | Residence | Oldest house in Salem County Obisquahassit was the sachem who sold land to Anders Seneca, son of one of the first settlers to New Sweden who bought a large tract before Fenwick's Colony was established. | |
Stone House by the Stone House Brook[16][17] | South Orange | pre-1680 | Residence | Oldest house in Essex County. Original stone walls are visible within enveloping Queen Anne Victorian added in two stages in 1876 and prior to 1896. | |
Nathaniel Bonnell House | Elizabeth | 1682 (1670) | Oldest house in Elizabethtown, original capital of Province of New Jersey and oldest original building in Union County | ||
6 West Pearl Street Penn's Brew House |
Burlington | 1682 | Residence | Oldest brewhouse in state | |
Aaron Dunn Homestead | Woodbridge | 1685[18] | Residence | Possibly the oldest house in Woodbridge and Middlesex County. | |
Buckelew Mansion | Jamesburg | 1685[19][20] | c.Residence | One room in the house dates to 1685, possibly oldest in Middlesex County. House was expanded, most recently in the 19th century, and is also known as Lakeview | c.|
Revell House[21][1] | Burlington | 1685 | Residence | Oldest house in Burlington County | |
Chew-Powell House | Gloucester Township | 1688 | Residence | Oldest house in Camden County[1] | |
Ladd's Castle | West Deptford Township | 1688–90 | c.Residence | Home to the surveyor John Ladd who assisted William Penn in planning Philadelphia.[1] Oldest brick house in Gloucester County | |
Hendrick Fisher House[22][23] | Franklin | 1688 | Residence | Oldest structure in Somerset County substantially renovated in early 20th century, now owned by Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA | |
Newkirk House[24][25] | Jersey City | 1690 | c.Commercial | Oldest building in Hudson County, originally built as homestead | |
Caesar Hoskins Log Cabin | Mauricetown | 1690 | Residence | Oldest house in Cumberland County | |
Robinson Plantation House[26] | Clark | 1690 | c.Residence | ||
Coxe Hall Cottage[27][1] | Cold Spring | 1691 | Museum | Oldest extant structure in Cape May County once part of complex belonging to Daniel Coxe. Relocated/reconstructed at Historic Cold Spring Village | |
Griffith Morgan House | Pennsauken Township | 1693 | Residence | ||
Joseph Cooper House[1] | Camden | 1695 | Abandoned | Oldest house in Camden Roof burnt about 2005 and in danger of complete collapse. | |
Schuyler-Colfax House[28] | Wayne | 1695 | Residence | Oldest buildings in Passaic County | |
John Mason House | Elsinboro | 1695 | Residence | Oldest part has patterned brick, date stone marked 1695[29][30] | |
St. John's Parsonage | Elizabeth | 1696 | Parsonage | Oldest religious building in Elizabeth | |
Thomas Maskel House | Greenwich Township | 1698 | Residence | ||
Andrews-Barlett Homestead[31][32] | Tuckerton Seaport | 1699 | Unused | Likely the oldest house in Ocean County[1] | |
Mortonson-Van Leer Log Cabin | Swedesboro | 1700 | c.One of the oldest Swedish-Finnish log buildings in America, adjacent to Trinity Church Cemetery | ||
Westerbrook–Bell House[33][34] | Sandyston Township | 1701 | c.Residence | Oldest house in Sussex County | |
St. Mary's Episcopal Church | Burlington | 1703 | Religious | Oldest church in New Jersey[35] | |
Mullica House | Mullica Hill | 1704 | Residence | Built by Swedish settler (with Finnish ancestry) Eric Mullica. Log house, which has survived more than 300 years and also Hurricane Sandy, which destroyed many other buildings. | |
Mead–Van Duyne House | Wayne | 1706 | Museum | Second oldest surviving Dutch stone house in Passaic County[36] | |
Isaac Watson House[37] | Hamilton | 1708 | Museum | Oldest building in Mercer County, restored in 1964 as headquarters of the NJ Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution | |
Jonathan Singletary Dunham House | Woodbridge Township | 1709 | Residence | Built by Jonathan Singletary Dunham, who built the first gristmill in New Jersey and was a member of the New Jersey Assembly[38] Date of 1709 ascertained through tree-ring dating. | |
Rockingham | Rocky Hill Kingston |
1710 | c.Museum | John Berrien's house served as the headquarters for George Washington and the Continental Army from August 23, 1783 to November 10, 1783. The house has been relocated three times: 1897, 1956, and 2001.[39] | |
Plume House | Newark | 1710 | Rectory | Located near I-280 the house is threatened by pollution and vibration, and considered one of the 10 most threatened historical sites in the state[40] | |
Burrough-Dover House | Pennsauken Township | 1710 | Residence | ||
Sydenham House | Newark | 1711 | Residence | Oldest private home in Newark | |
John Holcombe House | Delaware Township | 1711 | Museum | Part of Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead Museum. Oldest house in Hunterdon County[41][42][43] | |
Shinn Curtis Log House | Mount Holly | 1712 | |||
Perth Amboy City Hall | Perth Amboy | 1714–1717 | City hall | Oldest city hall in US | |
Woodbury Friends' Meetinghouse[44] | Woodbury | 1715 | Religious | Oldest Friends meeting house | |
Seaville Friends Meeting House[45] | Seaville | 1717 | Religious | Friends meeting house | |
William Green House | Ewing Township, New Jersey | 1717-1830 | Residence (abandoned) | On grounds of The College of New Jersey | |
William Trent House | Trenton | 1719 | Residence | Oldest house in Trenton, the state capitol, and served unofficially as governor's residence | |
Martin Berry House | Pequannock Township | 1720 | Residence | Former residence of Samuel Berry, Berry's were first family to settle Pompton Plains | |
Matthias Hendricke Smock House[46] | Piscataway | 1720 | Residence | ||
Seabrook–Wilson House | Middletown | 1720 | Family tradition states that the house was built in 1663 by Thomas Whitlock, who came to the colony in 1648. | ||
Van Wickle House[47] | Franklin Township | 1722 | House | ||
Daniel Demarest House | Dumont | 1724 | Residence | Oldest building in Bergen County | |
Peachfield | Westampton Township | 1725 | |||
Somers Mansion | Somers Point | 1725 | Residence | Oldest intact house in Atlantic County[48] | |
Van Veghten House | Finderne | 1725 | c.Museum | Headquarters of Quartermaster General Nathanael Greene during the second (winter of 1778–79) Middlebrook encampment in the American Revolutionary War[49] | |
Solitude House | High Bridge | 1725 | c.Unused | Home of Robert Taylor, superintendent of the Union Iron Works, founded 1742. Temporary prison for John Penn and Benjamin Chew during the American Revolutionary War.[50] | |
Davenport–Demarest House | Montville | 1730 | c.Residence | ||
Morven | Princeton | 1730 | Residence | Served as the state's first Governor's mansion from 1945–1981. | |
Joseph Ware House | Hancock's Bridge | 1730 | c.Residence | ||
Holcombe House | Lambertville | 1733 | c.Residence | Served as the headquarters of George Washington and the Continental Army, July 1777 and June 1778.[51] | |
Hancock House | Lower Alloways Creek Township | 1734 | Residence | Major John Graves Simcoe led approximately 300 British soldiers and Queen's Rangers through a marsh and across Alloway Creek to surround Hancock House. They surprised 20 to 30 members of the local militia stationed there, along with Judge Hancock, killing most of them. | |
Old Salem County Courthouse | Salem | 1735 | Courthouse | Oldest active courthouse in New Jersey and second oldest courthouse in continuous use in the United States.[52] Enlarged in 1817 and 1908, served as the courthouse for Salem County until 1969 and today for Salem City Municipal Court.[53][54] | |
Wortendyke Barn | Park Ridge | 1735 | Barn | One of oldest New World Dutch barns | |
Woodruff House | Hillside | 1735 | Residence/Hillside Historical Society | ||
Droeschers Mill | Cranford | 1737 | Commercial | Oldest continuously operated commercial building in New Jersey | |
Upper Freehold Baptist Meeting | Upper Freehold Township | 1737 | Church | Ye Olde Yellow Meeting House, oldest Baptist Meetinghouse[55] | |
Buccleuch Mansion | New Brunswick | 1739 | Residence | Visited by several prominent men, such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, General Kosciusko, General Gates, and John Hancock. | |
Hopper-Goetschius House | Upper Saddle River | 1739 | |||
Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge | Clark | 1720–1740 | c.|||
Cedar Bridge Tavern | Barnegat | c. 1740 | Unoccupied | Believed to contain oldest intact bar in the U.S. Site of the last skirmish of the American Revolutionary War. | |
The Red House | Ringwood | c. 1740 | Unoccupied | Oldest structure in Ringwood, NJ, located on the grounds of Ringwood State Park.[56] | |
Dey Mansion | Wayne | 1740 | Residence | Served as the headquarters of George Washington and the Continental Army from October to November 1780. | |
Staats House | South Bound Brook | 1740 | c.Residence | Served as the headquarters of Baron William Frederick Von Steuben in the spring of 1779. | |
Van Vorst House[57] | Jersey City | 1740 | c.Residence | Oldest private home in Jersey City | |
Van Wagenen House | Jersey City | ca 1740s | Museum | Undergoing restoration per 2009 | |
Ayers-Allen House aka Allen House Tavern |
Metuchen, New Jersey | ca 1740 | 40°32′40″N 74°21′52″W / 40.54444°N 74.36444°W | ||
Oxford Furnace | Oxford | 1741 | Furnace | First hot blast furnace in United States | |
Cornelius Low House | Piscataway | 1741 | Residence | ||
Hutchings Homestead | Springfield | 1741 | Residence | Colloquially known as the "Cannon Ball House", it served as a British field hospital during the Battle of Springfield (1780) | |
Updike Parsonage Barn | Cranbury | 1741 | Barn | One of oldest barns in state | |
Trinity Church | Newark | 1742 | Church | Oldest church in Newark | |
Joseph Shinn House | Woodstown | 1742 | Residence | Also known as the Old Red House | |
Richard Holcombe House | Delaware Township | 1744 | Unused | Expanded in 1811.[58] | |
Nathaniel Drake House | Plainfield | 1746 | Museum | George Washington briefly stayed at the house during the Battle of Short Hills. Currently operated as the Drake House Museum and home of the Historical Society of Plainfield. | |
Thomas West House | Westville | 1746 | Residence | [59] | |
Zion Lutheran[60] | Oldwick | 1749 | Church | Oldest Lutheran church in New Jersey | |
Boxwood Hall | Elizabeth | 1750 | c.Residence | Home of Elias Boudinot, signer of the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the 10th President of the Continental Congress 1782–1783. | |
Indian King Tavern | Haddonfield | 1750 | Tavern | Served as the meeting place for the New Jersey General Assembly to ratify the Declaration of Independence and adopt the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey in 1777. | |
Isaac Onderdonk House | Piscataway | 1750 | Residence | ||
Simon Van Duyne House | Montville | 1750 | c.Residence | ||
Old Dutch Parsonage | Somerville | 1751 | Parsonage | Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh lived here and helped establish Queen's College, now known as Rutgers University. The original site was on the north side of the street, just east of the Wallace House, but the house was moved west when the railroad went through its original location. | |
Old Tennent Church | Manalapan | 1751 | Church | Used as a field hospital during the Battle of Monmouth [61] | |
Vreeland Homestead | Nutley | 1751 | c.Museum | Operated by the Nutley Historical Society.[62] | |
Mount Holly Firehouse | Mount Holly | 1752 | Firehouse | Oldest firehouse in the US, established by what is now the oldest continuously operating volunteer fire department in the US[63][64] | |
Steuben House | New Bridge Landing | 1752 | Museum | ||
Neshanic Reformed Church | Hillsborough Township | 1752 | Church | Oldest church in New Jersey that is continuously used for its original purpose.[65] | |
Dirck Gulick House | Montgomery Township | 1752 | Museum | Operated by the Van Harlingen Historical Society | |
Covenhoven House | Freehold, New Jersey | 1752-53 | Museum | ||
Bishop–Irick Farmstead | Vincentown | 1753 | House | Headquarters and Visitors Center for the Pinelands Preservation Alliance[66] | |
Nassau Hall | Princeton | 1754 | Academic | Housed the entire United States government in 1783 | |
Holmes-Hendrickson House | Holmdel | 1754[67] | Residence | ||
Dickinson House (Alloway, New Jersey) | Alloway Township, New Jersey | 1754 | Residence | ||
Johannes Parlaman House | Montville | 1755 | Residence | ||
Shippen Manor | Oxford | 1755 | Residence | Possibly oldest house in Warren County | |
John Van Doren House | Millstone | 1755 | c.Residence | Served as the headquarters for George Washington, the night of January 3–4, 1777 after the Battle of Princeton. | |
Gabreil Daveis Tavern House | Glendora | 1756 | Tavern | also known as the Hillman Hospital House, this tavern was built in 1756 near the Big Timber Creek and housed boatmen who used the creek to ship goods to Philadelphia. It was designated a hospital by George Washington during the Revolutionary War. | |
Samuel Fleming House | Flemington | 1756 | House | also known as Flemington Castle, is an historic home located in Flemington, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. The building is now operated as a museum. It is the oldest surviving house in the borough. It is part of the Flemington Historic District. | |
Alloways Creek Friends Meetinghouse | Hancock's Bridge | 1756 | Residence | ||
Steele-Condit House | Roseland | 1757 | Residence | Built approx 1720–1730. First recorded in 1757. Post-and-Beam construction. Oldest house in Roseland.[68] Served as first school to area. | |
Old Barracks | Trenton | 1758 | Military | Last of its type, now National Historic Landmark & museum | |
Brainerd Schoolhouse[69][70] | Mount Holly | 1759 | School | Oldest one room school, now a museum | |
William Chamberlain House[71] | East Amwell | 1760 | Residence | ||
John Reading Farmstead | Raritan Township | 1760 | Residence | Home of John Reading, former governor of New Jersey, 1757–1758. | |
White Hill Mansion | Fieldsboro | 1760 | unused | [72][73][74][75][76][77][78] | |
Mount Bethel Baptist Meetinghouse | Warren Township | 1761 | Museum | In Somerset County | |
John Newbold House | Chesterfield Township | 1761 | c.Inn | At Fernbrook Farms in Burlington County | |
Proprietary House | Perth Amboy | 1762 | Government | Oldest remaining colonial proprietary governor's residence in the original Thirteen States | |
Seven Stars Tavern | Pilesgrove Township | 1762 | Tavern | In Salem County | |
Van Syckel's Tavern | Van Syckel | 1763 | Tavern | In Hunterdon County.[79] | |
Caspar Westervelt House | Teaneck | 1763 | Residence | ||
Sandy Hook Light | Sandy Hook | 1764 | Lighthouse | Oldest surviving lighthouse in the United States. | |
Franklin House | Woodbury | pre-1765 | Residence | Built before 1765 and originally a log cabin, the oldest surviving house in Woodbury was bought by a Joseph Franklin in 1823, and remained in his family until 1911. The exterior logs are intact but now have weatherboard cladding. Its front door, exposed beams, and one fireplace made from square handmade bricks are original.[80][81][82] | |
Thatcher House | Kingwood Township | 1765 | Residence | ||
George Jr. and Sarah Morgan House | Washington Township | 1765 | c.Museum | ||
Kingsland Manor | Nutley | 1768 | Residence | Built as a farmhouse in 1768 and expanded between 1790 and 1796 by Joseph Kingsland. | |
Samuel Johnson House | Franklin Corners | 1770 | c.Residence | ||
Liberty Hall | Union | 1772 | Residence | The home of William Livingston the first governor of New Jersey. | |
Rancocas Friends Meeting House | Rancocas | 1772 | Religious | ||
Crosswicks Friends Meeting House | Crosswicks | 1773 | Religious | ||
Christ Church | New Brunswick | 1773 (tower) | Church | Episcopal Church, founded in 1742. | |
Campbell-Christie House | River Edge | 1774 | Museum | Part of Historic New Bridge Landing | |
Ford Mansion | Morristown | 1774 | Museum | The headquarters of George Washington and the Continental Army during the "Hard Winter" from December 1779 until May 1780. | |
Boudinot–Southard Farmstead | Bernards Township | pre-1776 | Residence | Elias Boudinot moved here in November 1776. | |
Wallace House | Somerville | 1776 | Residence | Served as headquarters of General George Washington during the second Middlebrook encampment (1778–79) |
Building | Image | Location | First Built | Use | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Reformed Dutch Church | Hackensack | 1781 | Religious | Oldest Dutch Reformed Church | |
Rahway and Plainfield Friends Meeting House | Plainfield | 1788 | Religious | First house of worship in Plainfield | |
New Jersey State House | Trenton | 1792 | Government | Second oldest statehouse in continuous use in the U.S.[83] | |
Old Queens | New Brunswick | 1809 | Academic | Oldest building at Rutgers University. | |
Burlington County Prison | Mount Holly | 1811 | Prison | Possibly oldest prison building, which operated from 1811 to 1965 | |
Pompton Reformed Church | Pompton Lakes | 1814 | Religious | ||
Barrow Mansion | Jersey City | 1835 | c.Private home | Adapted as community center beginning in 1890s | |
Stratford Quaker Store | Stratford | 1840 | c.General Store | Foundation from 1740s, rebuilt circa 1840 | |
Jonathan Pyne House | Cape May | 1844 | Residence | In Cape May County.[1] 2006 Dendrochronological survey provided date of 1844. | |
Saint Francis Roman Catholic Church | Trenton | 1846 | Church | Oldest Roman Catholic church. Catholics became entitled to own property only with the passage of the state's revised constitution in 1840.[84] | |
Spermacetti Cove Life-saving Station | Sandy Hook Highlands |
1849 | Maritime | Last surviving of first federally built by United States Life-Saving Service Relocated from Fort Hancock to Navesink Twin Lights in 1954[85][86] | |
Long-a-Coming Depot | Berlin | 1856 | Rail station | Oldest railroad station | |
Ramsey Station | Ramsey | 1868 | Railroad Station | Oldest passenger station in service | |
Market St. Firehouse | Morristown | 1870 | Firehouse | Oldest firehouse in Morris County | |
Mount Pisgah AME Church[87] | Salem | 1871 | Church | Oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church | |
Chalfonte Hotel[88] | Cape May | 1876 | Hotel | Oldest continuously operated hotel on the East Coast of the US and contributing property to the Cape May Historic District. | |
Congregation Adas Emuno | Hoboken | 1883 | Synagogue | Oldest surviving synagogue building in New Jersey[89] | |
Weehawken Water Tower | Weehawken | 1883 | Water tower | Possibly oldest water tower | |
East Jersey State Prison | Avenel | 1901 | Prison | Better known by its original name, Rahway State Prison, oldest operating prison | |
Firemen's Insurance Company Building | Newark | 1910 | Skyscraper | The 220 foot (67m) 19 story building is the oldest existing skyscraper is located in the Four Corners Historic District[90][91][92] | |
Max's Diner | Harrison | 1927 | Restaurant | Oldest diner[93][94] | |
Newark Airport Administration Building | Newark | 1935 | Aviation | First airport terminal in the United States[95] | |
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station | Forked River | 1969 | Nuclear power station | Oldest operating nuclear power station in the United States | |
Either the Caesars Atlantic City or Bally's Atlantic City | Atlantic City | 1979 | Gambling Casino | Oldest legal purpose-built gambling casino. (While Resorts Casino Hotel is a year older, it used an existing building for its business, Haddon Hall. Caesar's expanded a pre-existing building for its casino.) | |
Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm | Atlantic City | 2005 | Wind farm | The first coastal wind farm in the United States and New Jersey's first wind farm, consisting of five towers |
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Although Catholics had regularly held mass in Trenton for years, they became entitled to own property only with the passage of the state's revised constitution in 1840.
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