List of the oldest buildings in Arkansas

This article lists the oldest extant buildings in Arkansas, including extant buildings and structures constructed prior to and during the United States rule over Arkansas. Only buildings built prior to 1840 are suitable for inclusion on this list, or the building must be the oldest of its type.

In order 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
(Old) St. Mary Church

Sherrill, Arkansas 1782 Church Built on a barge at Arkansas Post. Relocated in 1832, and again to current location in 1869 where the wooden structure was overlaid with brick in 1927.[1]
Albert Pike School Van Buren, Arkansas 1820s School School where Albert Pike taught; it was moved and is now on the grounds of the Crawford County Courthouse
Ten Mile House Little Rock, Arkansas ca. 1825-1836 Residence
Estevan Hall Helena, Arkansas 1826 Residence
Morrow Farmstead Morrow, Arkansas 1828 Residence [2]
Rice-Upshaw House near Dalton, Arkansas 1828 Residence Squared log structure
Jesse Hinderliter House Little Rock, Arkansas ca. 1828-1831 Residence/ Tavern
Jacob Wolf House between Norfolk, Arkansas and Mountain Home, Arkansas 1829 Residence/ Government Building Oldest public building in Arkansas started as a house before becoming a County seat building; Squared log house.[3]
Hudson-Grace-Borreson House Pine Bluff, Arkansas 1830 Residence
Plummer's Station Conway County, Arkansas 1830 Residence
Block-Catts House Washington, Arkansas 1832 Residence
Williams Tavern Restaurant Washington, Arkansas 1832 Residence/ Tavern
Grandison D. Royston House Washington, Arkansas 1833 Residence
Elkhorn Tavern Pea Ridge, Arkansas 1833/1865 Residence Used as a Civil War hospital; Burned and rebuilt with original foundation/chimney in 1865
Looney–French House Dalton, Arkansas 1833 Residences Squared log house
Old State House (Little Rock, Arkansas) Little Rock, Arkansas 1833-1842 Government The oldest surviving state capitol building west of the Mississippi River.[4]
Methodist Manse Cane Hill, Arkansas 1834 Church/ Residence Disputed by recent evidence[5]
Tom Smith House Washington County, Arkansas 1834 Residence
Ashley-Alexander House Scott, Arkansas 1835 Residence
Royston Log House Washington State Park 1835 Residence
Peeler Gap Road House Danville, Arkansas 1835 Residence [6]
Barnett-Attwood House Cleveland County, Arkansas ca. 1835-1836 Residence
Confederate State Capitol Building Washington, Arkansas 1836 Residence
Drennen-Scott House Van Buren, Arkansas 1836 Residence
Hester-Lenz House Benton, Arkansas 1836 Residence
Ridge House Fayetteville, Arkansas 1836 Residence
Simon Sager Cabin Siloam Springs, Arkansas 1837 Residence
Hudson-Jones House Clark County, Arkansas 1837 Residence
Wilhauf House Van Buren, Arkansas 1837 Residence
William Dillard Homestead Stone County, Arkansas 1837 Residence
Fort Smith Old Commissary Fort Smith, Arkansas 1838 Residence
Maguire-Williams House Washington County, Arkansas 1838 Residence
Absalom Fowler House Little Rock, Arkansas 1840 Residence
Joel Smith House El Dorado, Arkansas 1840 Residence
Pike–Fletcher–Terry House Little Rock, Arkansas 1840 Residence
Smyrna Methodist Church near Searcy, Arkansas 1854 Church Oldest church built in Arkansas[7]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "St. Mary Catholic Church". ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  2. ^ "Couple revives historic Morrow homestead". Arkansas Online. 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  3. ^ Oldest House and Public Structure in Arkansas, Have You Toured it? https://kkyr.com/the-oldest-house-and-public-structure-in-arkansas-have-you-toured-it
  4. ^ O'Donnell, William W. (1987). "Prelude to The Civil War Quadrennium". The Civil War Quadrennium: A Narrative History of Day-to-Day Life in Little Rock, Arkansas During the American War Between Northern and Southern States 1861-1865 (2nd ed.). Little Rock, Ark.: Civil War Round Table of Arkansas. pp. 1–14. LCCN 85-72643 – via Horton Brothers Printing Compan
  5. ^ Kimberly, Pyszka; Bobby R., Braly; Jamie, Brandon (2018). "The Methodist "Manse" of Cane Hill, Arkansas: A New History". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 77 (3): 250–265 – via JSTOR.
  6. ^ "Peeler Gap Road House". DAH Site. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  7. ^ Dr. Raymond Muncy, Searcy, Arkansas: A frontier town grows up with America
[edit]