List of the oldest buildings in Iowa

This article lists the oldest extant buildings in Iowa, including extant buildings and structures constructed during pre-statehood period of Iowa history. Only buildings built prior to 1850 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	Location	First built	Use	Notes
Louis Arriandeaux Log House	Dubuque, Iowa	ca. 1827	Residence	Oldest house in Iowa.^[1] Located on the grounds of the Mathias Ham House
Stringtown House	Davis County, Iowa	1832	Residence	Oldest house in Davis County
Claim House	Davenport, Iowa	ca. 1832-1833	Residence	Oldest building in Davenport
Rhodham Bonnifield House	Fairfield, Iowa	1838	Residence
St. Anthony's Catholic Church (Davenport, Iowa)	Davenport, Iowa	1838	Church	Oldest church building in use in Iowa^[2]
Alexander Brownlie House	Long Grove, Iowa	1839	Residence
Paton and Hannah Wilson House	Salem, Iowa	1839	Residence
Rhoda Smalley House	Muscatine, Iowa	ca. 1839	Residence
I.O.O.F. Hall	Bentonsport, Iowa	ca. 1840s	Fraternity Hall
Abiathar and Nancy White House	Burlington, Iowa	ca. 1840	Residence	Largest Federal-style building in Burlington
Alexander Young Cabin	Washington, Iowa	ca. 1840	Residence
Cowles House	Bentonsport, Iowa	ca. 1840	Residence
Henderson Lewelling House	Salem, Iowa	1840	Residence
Kuhl House	Iowa City, Iowa	1840	Residence	Now home to University Press at University of Iowa^[3]
Fort Atkinson	Fort Atkinson, Iowa	ca. 1840-1842	Military Fort
Beers and St. John Company Coach Inn	near West Liberty, Iowa	1842	Inn
Iowa Old Capitol Building	Iowa City, Iowa	1842	Government	^[4]
James Brown House	Riverdale, Iowa	1842	Residence
Lee County Courthouse	Fort Madison, Iowa	1842	Government
Stone Academy	Solon, Iowa	1842	School
Collins-Bond House	Salem, Iowa	1843	Residence
James Nealey House	Muscatine, Iowa	ca. 1843	Residence
Potter's Mill	Bellevue, Iowa	1843	Commercial/ Mill
Thomas F. and Nancy Tuttle House	Pella, Iowa	1843	Residence	Oldest building in Pella
Van Buren County Courthouse	Keosauqua, Iowa	1843	Courthouse
Aunty Green Hotel	Bonaparte, Iowa	1844	Residence
Moyce–Steffens House	Fort Madison, Iowa	1844	Residence
Plum Grove	Iowa City, Iowa	1844	Residence
Franklin Pearson House	Keosauqua, Iowa	1845	Residence
Jackson County Courthouse	Bellevue, Iowa	1845	Courthouse
Theodore Niemann House	Jackson, County, Iowa	1845	Residence
William Fordney House	Burlington, Iowa	1845	Residence
Windrem House	Iowa City, Iowa	ca. 1845-1850	Residence
Couch-Carskaddan House	Muscatine, Iowa	ca. 1846	Residence
Larnerd Case House	Des Moines, Iowa	1846	Residence	^[5]
Mason House Inn	Bentonsport, Iowa	1846	Residence/ Inn
Paradise Farm	Bellevue, Iowa	1846	Residence
Taylor–Van Note House	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	1846	Residence
Baptist Church	Sperry, Iowa	1847	Church
Buffalo Bill Cody Homestead	Butler Township, Scott County, Iowa	1847	Residence
Hancock House	Bentonsport, Iowa	1847	Residence
Jacob Wentz House	Iowa City, Iowa	1847	Residence
Ambrose Fulton Log Cabin	Davenport, Iowa	1848	Residence
Dominie Henry P. Scholte House	Pella, Iowa	1848	Residence
Isaac R. and Charlotte Mauck House	Muscatine, Iowa	ca. 1848	Residence
Jesse and Mary Farley House	Dubuque, Iowa	ca. 1848	Residence
Jonathan Clark Conger House	Washington, Iowa	ca. 1848	Residence
Lynnville Mill and Dam	Lynnville, Iowa	1848	Commercial/ Mill
Pine Creek Gristmill	Muscatine County, Iowa	1848	Commercial, Mill
Pioneer Log Cabin	Newton, Iowa	1848	Residence
Spring Side	Bellevue, Iowa	1848	Residence
Gen. Samuel R. Curtis House	Keokuk, Iowa	1849	Residence
Lamm-Pollmiller Farmstead	Salem, Iowa	ca. 1849	Residence
Rose Hill	Iowa City, Iowa	1849	Residence
Upper Paradise	Bellevue, Iowa	1849	Residence
Western Hotel	Holy Cross, Iowa	ca. 1849-1850	Residence