Cabins, homes, military compounds, and outhouses, oh my! The oldest buildings in Wisconsin date back to the 1700s and run the entire utility gamut.
Wisconsin officially became a U.S. state in 1848, but many of its oldest buildings actually predate its statehood. This goes for many states in the Midwest, the South, and New England, as these were the first areas that Europeans settled on before moving westward. Naturally, this means that Wisconsin and other Eastern states have some of the oldest buildings in the nation, often dating back to the mid-to-late 1700s and early 1800s, while the oldest structures in Western states like Nevada only date back to the mid-nineteenth century and later.
With Wisc. possessing so much rich history, we knew we had to take a closer look at which buildings across the Badger State have stood the test of time and are still standing nearly two centuries later, in some cases. For instance, one of the most interesting buildings in the state is the St. Joan of Arc Chapel; however, this building was erected in France circa the fifteenth century and didn’t cross the Atlantic to reach New York and later Marquette University in Wisconsin until the 1900s. While it’s certainly a sight to behold, we’ve excluded it from our actual list since it wasn’t originally built in Wisconsin, but if you can go see it in person, we recommend it. It’s the oldest building in the state, and it’s both gorgeous and carries such a storied past.
With that established, let’s look at 10 of the oldest buildings in Wisconsin, from cabins and hotels to military buildings and even an outhouse (yes, you read that right).
1. Roi-Porlier-Tank Cottage (c. 1776)
Address: 2640 South Webster Ave, Green Bay, WI 54301
The Roi-Porlier-Tank Cottage is the Badger State’s oldest still-standing building, enduring in Wisconsin since the mid-1770s (aka prime Revolutionary War time). It hasn’t always occupied the same space, however..Read More
