List of the oldest buildings in Rhode Island

This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings surviving in the state of Rhode Island in the United States of America, including the oldest houses in Rhode Island and any other surviving structures. In the 1670s, most buildings, other than those on Aquidneck Island, were burned and destroyed during King Philip's War. Some dates are approximate and based upon dendochronology, architectural studies, and historical records.

List

Building		Location	First Built	Notes
Stephen Northup House		North Kingstown, Rhode Island	ca. 1660-1661 (possibly rebuilt)	possibly burned during King Philip's War in the 1670s and rebuilt, later modifications 1712, 1850, 2004
Newport Tower (Rhode Island)		Newport, Rhode Island	ca. 1670 or pre-1492	Viking structure[1] or colonial windmill.[2] No roof or floors since the mid-18th century
Philip Sherman House		Portsmouth, Rhode Island	1670	moved from original location c. 1850; major renovation 1987-1990[3]
White Horse Tavern (Rhode Island)		Newport, Rhode Island	1673	Oldest tavern in America[4]
Thomas Fenner House		Cranston, Rhode Island	1677	early stone ender
Edward Searle House		Cranston, Rhode Island	1670-1720	early stone ender
Capt. John Mawdsley House		Newport, Rhode Island	ca. 1677–1680	with a large 18th century modification
Smith's Castle		Wickford, Rhode Island	1678	house museum, site of Roger Williams trading post, National Historic Landmark
Phillip Walker House		East Providence, Rhode Island	1679	research site used by Roger Williams University
Clement Weaver House		East Greenwich, Rhode Island	1679	early stone ender. See also http://www.c1679.com
John Bliss House		Newport, Rhode Island	ca.1680	early stone ender
Forge Farm		Warwick, Rhode Island	1684	oldest part of house dates to 1684
Daggett House		Pawtucket, Rhode Island	1685	oldest house in Pawtucket
Gorton-Greene House		Warwick, Rhode Island	1685
Palmer-Northrup House		North Kingstown, Rhode Island	ca.1685
Hopelands		Warwick, Rhode Island	ca.1686	western ell of building, dates to 1686, now part of Rocky Hill School
Peleg Arnold Tavern		North Smithfield, Rhode Island	ca. 1690	home of Peleg Arnold
Wilbor House		Little Compton, Rhode Island	1690	oldest house in Little Compton
Clemence-Irons House		Johnston, Rhode Island	1691	primitive stone ender
Samuel Clarke House and Farm		Kenyon, Rhode Island	1691	Retains original exterior wide oak weatherboards - on the north side, early 18th-century window sash and frames, a granite central chimney with four fireplaces and original period interior architectural detail.
Eleazer Arnold House		Lincoln, Rhode Island	ca. 1693	National Historic Landmark
Valentine Whitman House		Lincoln, Rhode Island	1694	early stone ender
Smith-Appleby House		Smithfield, Rhode Island	1696	museum
Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House		Newport, Rhode Island	1697	one of the oldest houses in Newport, currently a museum
Great Friends Meeting House		Newport, Rhode Island	1699	Quaker Meeting House, oldest surviving church building in Rhode Island
Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery		Portsmouth, Rhode Island	1699-1700	Quaker Meeting House, original site of Moses Brown School, likely oldest church building in RI used continuously as a church
Samuel E. Perry House	[5]	South Kingstown, RI	1696-1716. Foundation purportedly dates from 1661.	Located in Matunuck[5]
Perry-Carpenter Grist Mill		South Kingstown, Rhode Island	1703	Located in Matunuck[5][6]
Six Principle Baptist Church		North Kingstown, Rhode Island	1703	oldest Baptist church building in RI, possibly oldest Baptist church building in the U.S.
Saylesville Meetinghouse		Lincoln, Rhode Island	1704	Possibly oldest church building in Providence County, RI
Old Narragansett Church		Wickford, Rhode Island	1707	oldest surviving colonial Episcopal church in Northern USA
Henry Palmer House	[5]	South Kingstown, RI	1721	Private home in East Matunuck[5]
Dr. Charles Cotton House		Newport, RI	ca. 1720	Dr. Charles Cotton, a great-grandson of Josiah Cotton and surgeon aboard the USS Constitution, owned the house in the early 19th century.
Trinity Episcopal Church		Newport, Rhode Island	1726	Oldest Parish in Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
Captain John Warren House		Newport, Rhode Island	1737	French Navy Artillery Headquarters 1780 - 1781[7]
Elisha Reynolds House		Kingston, Rhode Island	1738	Now home to the Tavern Hall Preservation Society
Weeden Farm House (Willow Dell)	[5]	South Kingstown, RI	1753	Located in Matunuck[5]
Rocky Meadows Farm House	[5]	South Kingstown, RI	1754	Rumored to have been a tavern. Located on Old Post Road (Route 1)[5] The farm land is now protected by the South Kingstown Land Trust.[8]
Henry Marchant House	[5]	South Kingstown, RI	pre 1760	Located off of South County Trail (Route 2). Henry Marchant was Rhode Island’s Attorney General from 1771 to 1777. Between 1777 and 1780, he represented Rhode Island in the Continental Congress,and after the Revolution, Marchant served in the Rhode Island General Assembly.[5]
Touro Synagogue		Newport, Rhode Island	1759-63	Oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States

Destroyed early Rhode Island buildings

• 

  Henry Bull House, ca. 1639, was destroyed by fire in December 1912. This Newport house was allegedly the oldest house in Rhode Island until its destruction.

• 

  Governor William Coddington House, a stone ender in Newport built in 1640-41, was razed in 1835.

• 

  Roger Mowry Tavern, built ca. 1653, demolished in 1900 for the construction of a triple decker

• 

  Colonial president John Smith was a stonemason, and built his stone "castle" in Warwick before 1663. It was razed in 1779.^[1]

1. ^ Bicknell, Thomas Williams (1920). The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Vol.3. New York: The American Historical Society. pp. 1014–1025. OCLC 1953313.

See also

• Henry Bull House, ca. 1639 possibly oldest house in RI until demolished in 1912)
• Oldest buildings in America
• Roger Mowry Tavern, ca. 1653 possibly oldest house in RI until demolished in 1900)
• Stone-ender
• Timeline of architectural styles

Notes

1. There is no archaeological or documentary evidence for this, but the theory has persisted since the early 19th century
2. William F. McNeil, "Visitors to Ancient America" (McFarland: 2004), 78.
3. "Philip Sherman house". Retrieved 23 July 2012.
4. Architecture and Town Planning in Colonial North America - Page 1036 by James D. Kornwolf, Georgiana Wallis Kornwolf (2002)
5. Historic and Architectural Resources of South Kingstown, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report (PDF). 150 Benefit St Providence, RI 02903: Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission. 1984. pp. 21,23,103,109,133,141,146.
6. "Grist Mill Repairs complete thanks to Foundation & Individual Grants". sklt.org. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
7. "Captain John Warren House". Colonial America. Northeast Communications, LLC. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
8. "South Kingstown Land Trust".

External links

• Clement Weaver House - Oldest House in Rhode Island, (1679) (accessed on June 21, 2008)
• Norman A. Isham & Alber Frederic Brown, Early Rhode Island Houses:, (Preston & Rounds, 1895) (accessed June 21, 2008 on Google Book Search)
• Oldest Houses in South County, (1934) (accessed on June 21, 2008)
• Michael Mello, Providence Journal, "Dating R.I's oldest houses is part science, part art" August 21, 2005