How to Visit the Oldest Buildings in Every State of USA

When you’re planning a road trip, there are lots of factors that help you choose where to go, but how about a taste of history? The United States of America has some incredible stories to tell wherever you look and while you might think of it as a relatively young country, it still has a lot of history behind it—if you know where to .

One way to capture that feeling of the past would be to visit the oldest building in each state you visit. So, wherever your road trip takes you, there’s no excuse for not searching for a real piece of history.

The oldest existing buildings in America are those that were created out of stone by the Pueblan people, like the Mesa Verde Cliff Palace in Colorado, which dates back to 1190. New Mexico also has a Pueblan structure you can see in Taos Pueblo, which is close to 1000 years old and is still lived in.

Read More: Soak Up Some History on Route 66, America's Most Iconic Highway

Book Your Flight to Mexico

Book Your Flight to Mexico

Visiting any of these old buildings is a reminder of the long history of the land from its pre-USA days and many of them were built by people from nations that occupied parts of the country in the past. In Alaska, you can find the Russian-American Magazin, which is still standing as a throwback to when that was Russian territory.

In Delaware, the Block House in Claymont is a building from the state’s days as New Sweden. Built as a defensive structure by the last Governor of the colony, it has survived since 1654 despite being attacked by the Dutch, Native Americans and the British.

Religion plays a big role in the history of the nation and there’s examples of that in many states, like the Mission San Xavier Del Bac in Arizona, which was built in the late 18th century in Tucson on a site dating back to the 17th century and is still in use as a Franciscan mission as well as a popular tourist destination as one of the best known examples of Spanish colonial architecture.

The Mission San Juan Capistrano in California dates back to 1776 and was named after an Italian ‘warrior priest’. The city of San Juan Capistrano grew around the mission in Orange County and it even featured in some early Hollywood movies.

Book Your Flight to California

Book Your Flight to California

The Henry Whitfield State Museum in Connecticut was originally built in 1904 for the leader of a Puritan community, while Idaho is home to the Cataldo Mission, which was built in 1850 at the request of the Nez Perce and Flathead tribes, who wanted to learn more about the Bible. Today it’s a popular wedding venue.

Architecturally, some of these historical buildings seem out of place now and some of them did even when they were built, like the Ka Hale Lāʻau in Hawaii, which was constructed for missionaries in 1821 and its name means ‘wood house’, presumably because it looks like it was meant to be built in New England rather than the island paradise.

Meanwhile, some of the oldest buildings are actual historical landmarks, like the Alamo Mission in Texas, the site of one of America’s most famous battles, while Fort Leavenworth in Kansas remains an important location for the US Army and Locust Grove in Kentucky is famous for housing the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Read More: The World's Best Destinations For History Buffs

Book Your Flight to Texas

Book Your Flight to Texas

Every state has its own history and its own oldest building, whether it happens to be a private house, a military fort, a religious mission or a print shop. Thanks to this guide, you will not miss out on visiting a piece of history again.