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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

Jonathon Yu is not a professional developer, but he is interested in building new housing.

In 2023, the 29-year-old product manager submitted plans to Sunnyvale to raze the modest 1,000-square-foot bungalow he bought a year earlier and replace it with a three-story, five-unit multifamily building.

He paid a few thousand dollars for an architect to draw up plans, then a few thousand more to the city for application fees. His parents called him insane for spending so much, but Yu had the money, and he wanted to build housing.

He didn’t have the funds for what Sunnyvale demanded next: To get the permit for the $3 million project, he would need to pay $300,000 in impact fees, one-time charges imposed by local governments to fund improvements to infrastructure like roads, parks and schools.

“What stopped me were the impact fees,” Yu said. “If I would have completed the structure, it would’ve been the most affordable new housing in the area.”

Across the Bay Area, impact fees like those Yu encountered often surpass six figures per unit — and developers have had little leeway to challenge them.

But a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court could limit the impact fees that California can levy, which some say could lower the barriers to building new housing.

The case involved California landowner George Sheetz, who challenged the $23,420 fee El Dorado County required to fund road expansions the county said were necessitated by the small home he wanted to build. Sheetz sued, arguing the Constitution’s taking clause limits what the government can take without fair compensation.

Previous cases have required such fees to be “roughly proportional” to a development’s impact. But California courts have held local governments to a lower standard

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court found that was incorrect, and remanded the case to the state court for reconsideration. It’s unclear what new standards the California court will.. Read More

Interest rate hikes and inflationary pressures coupled with a lingering fear of recession continue to serve as obstacles to growth in housing and remodeling, although conditions are forecast to improve by 2024, market analysts say. Among the key statistics and forecasts released in recent weeks by government agencies, research firms and industry-related trade associations were the following:

Limited existing-home inventory has placed a renewed emphasis on new construction and is resulting in gains in builder confidence, even as housing continues to face key challenges, including supply chain disruptions and tightening credit conditions for construction loans.. Read more here