This article lists the oldest extant buildings in Illinois, including extant buildings and structures constructed prior to and during the United States rule over Illinois. Only buildings built prior to 1830 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
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (January 2024) |
| Building | Image | Location | First built | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Cahokia Courthouse | 
|
Cahokia Heights, Illinois | 1737 | Residence/Courthouse | Oldest building in Illinois. French Canadian Court House |
| Fort de Chartres Powder Magazine | 
|
Randolph County, Illinois | c. 1750 | Military | Oldest stone building in Illinois; French military fortification |
| Church of the Holy Family (Cahokia Heights, Illinois) | 
|
Cahokia Heights, Illinois | 1786-1799 | Church | French Canadian church |
| Martin–Boismenue House | 
|
East Carondelet | 1790 | Residential | One of the oldest surviving French Colonial structures in Illinois. |
| Creole House | 
|
Prairie du Rocher, Illinois | c. 1800 | Residence | One of the oldest surviving French colonial homes in Prairie du Rocher. |
| Pierre Menard Home | 
|
near Kaskaskia, Illinois | c. 1802 | Residence | Oldest former home of a former state government official (Pierre Menard) standing in the state |
| Kirkpatrick House | Edwardsville, Illinois | 1805 | Residence | Oldest house in Edwardsville and Madison County which was built by the founder of Edwardsville Thomas Kirkpatrick | |
| Nicholas Jarrot Mansion | 
|
Cahokia Heights, Illinois | 1807–1810 | Residence | French trapper's Federal style house |
| James Lemen House | New Design, Illinois | c. 1810 | Residence | Oldest brick house in Monroe County and only surviving building from the New Design settlement | |
| Rose Hotel | 
|
Elizabethtown, Illinois | 1812 | Hotel | Oldest hotel in the state |
| Robinson-Stewart House | 
|
Carmi, Illinois | 1814 | Residence | Oldest building in Carmi |
| Daniel Tolman House | 
|
Edwardsville, Illinois | 1819 | Residence | Second oldest building in Edwardsville |
| Benjamin Stephenson House | .JPG)
|
Edwardsville, Illinois | 1820 | Residence | Home of territorial Illinois delegate Benjamin Stephenson |
| Black Homestead Farm | 
|
Greene County, Illinois | 1821 | Residence | Oldest standing house in Greene County |
| Clayville Tavern | 
|
Clayville, Illinois | 1824 | Tavern | Tavern built by John Broadwell |
| Dowling House | 
|
Galena, Illinois | 1826-27 | Residence | Oldest building in Galena |
| Ratcliff Inn | 
|
Carmi, Illinois | 1828 | Residence | Built for Carmi founder James Ratcliff |
| Hodges House | 
|
Carrollton, Illinois | 1829 | Residence | Oldest house in Carrollton |
| John Patton Log Cabin | 
|
Lexington, Illinois | 1829 | Residence | One of the oldest buildings in McLean County, Illinois |
| Beecher Hall | 
|
Jacksonville, Illinois | 1829-1830 | College Building | Oldest college building in Illinois and the first built in the state |
| Mermaid House Hotel | 
|
Lebanon, Illinois | 1830 | Hotel | Built by Lyman Adams. Visited by Charles Dickens in 1842. |
| Noble–Seymour–Crippen House | 
|
Chicago, Illinois | 1833 | Residence | The oldest building in Chicago |
| Vandalia State House | 
|
Vandalia, Illinois | 1836 | Capitol Building | Oldest state capitol building in Illinois |
| Old St. Patrick's Church | 
|
Chicago | 1854 | Church | Oldest surviving church in Chicago |
| University Hall | 
|
Evanston | 1869 | College building | Oldest building on the campus of Northwestern University |
| Delaware Building | 
|
Chicago | 1872 | Commercial | |
| Berghoff Buildings | 
|
Chicago | 1872 | Commercial | Three buildings currently occupied by the Berghoff restaurant |
| Page Brothers Building | 
|
Chicago | 1872 | Commercial | The building features Chicago's last remaining cast iron façade |
| Harker Hall | 
|
Urbana | 1877 | College building | Oldest building in use on the campus of the University of Illinois |
| Manhattan Building |  |
Chicago | 1889–1891 | Commercial | Oldest surviving skyscraper in the world. Currently residential condominiums. |
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Illinois
- History of Illinois
- Oldest buildings in the United States
References
- "Doors close at Dana-Thomas House". Springfield, Ill. State Journal-Register. December 1, 2008.
- Green, Susan. Great Historic Places. Simon & Schuster, 1980
- ^ Drury, John (1948). Old Illinois houses. Internet Archive. Springfield, Illinois : Illinois State Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-226-16552-3.
- "Kirkpatrick House". www.idaillinois.org. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- "NHL nomination for Nicholas Jarrot Mansion". National Park Service. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- "James Lemen House, State Highway 3, Waterloo, Monroe County, IL". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- "The Tolman, Bowers, and Todd Building – Madison Historical". Retrieved January 26, 2024.
