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(#1) Taos Pueblo
- Place
As with the Acoma Pueblo, the adobe buildings of the Taos Pueblo were constructed using a mixture of earth, water, and straw. Parts of the present-day buildings are believed to have been built between 1000 and 1450 AD.
Of the 19 pueblos in New Mexico, Taos is located the farthest north, near the Taos Mountains and Red Willow Creek, or Rio Pueblo de Taos. Some 150 people still live here year-round.
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(#8) General Israel Putnam House
- House
Though named after Israel "Old Put" Putnam, a major general in the Revolutionary War, the Putnam House is more notorious for its connection to the 1692 Salem Witch trials than its architecture.
The house was built by Israel's grandfather, Thomas, sometime around 1648. Thomas Putnam's son, Thomas Jr., was heavily involved in the witchcraft hysteria that afflicted Salem in the late 17th century. That is to say, Thomas Jr. and his wife Ann accused a lot of folks of a lot of witchery. Things got so heated during this era that Thomas's younger brother, Joseph, who lived in the house at the time, allegedly told Ann, “If you dare to touch with your foul lies anyone belonging to my household, you shall answer for it.”
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(#3) Fairbanks House
Built around 1637, the Fairbanks House of Dedham, MA, holds claim to the title of "oldest known wooden structure still standing in North America." It housed eight generations of the Fairbanks family (beginning with Jonathan and Grace Fairbanks) and is a museum today.
Lowell Cummings, a former professor of American Decorative Arts at Yale University, has called the home "one of the most important historic houses now standing in the northeastern part of the United States" due to its "unbelievabl[y] unspoiled condition."
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(#9) Old House, Cutchogue, NY (1649)
Built in 1649 and restored in 1940, the Old House is located on State Route 25 in New York's Suffolk County. According to the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council, it is "the oldest English-style, medieval house in New York State," and considered "one of the finest examples of Pilgrim Century architecture in the nation."
The historical council has made a 2019 archaeology report of the property available, which partly sought to determine if there were any hidden artifacts of "ritualistic or magical significance, in particular 'witch bottles' and comparable devices found at similar sites that may have been buried there.” Unfortunately, despite that intriguing description, no such items were found.
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(#13) James Blake House
Architecture buffs should be delighted by the James Blake House, which is not only the oldest house in Boston, but also "one of only a few examples of West England country framing in the United States." The house was built in 1661 and originally occupied by James Blake, an English immigrant, and Elizabeth Clap, the daughter of a deacon.
In the late 19th century, the house was to be demolished to make way for a massive urbanization project. It was purchased and refurbished by the Dorchester Historical Society, which also paid for it to be moved 400 yards to its current location. According to the historical society, "This seems to be the first recorded instance of a historic private residence being moved from its original site in order to rescue it from demolition."
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(#10) Macy-Colby House
- American Colonial
Built by the English Thomas Macy in approximately 1649, the house was sold to Anthony Colby in 1654. Macy is notable for being the subject of a 19th-century poem by John Greenleaf Whittier entitled The Exile.
After moving his family into Amesbury proper, Macy later ran afoul of the local, Puritan government. His crime? Allowing four Quakers to stay in his new home for "less than an hour" during a heavy storm. This was against a 1657 law that forbid the harboring of "any of the cursed sect of Quakers," and Macy was fined 30 shillings for it.
Macy was himself a Baptist, and left town two years later to become the first European settler of Nantucket.
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About This Tool
Almost everything slowly disappeared in the course of time. There are many amazing and unique buildings in this world, even though they have gone through thousands of years under the sun and moon, they are still very well preserved. Speaking of such ancient buildings, perhaps many people think of the Great Wall, the Pyramid, etc. Although the United States does not have a long history, there are some old houses that have existed for hundreds of years and still stand today.
The random tool displays the 19 oldest houses in the US. The United States may not be as old as European countries, but hundreds or even thousands of years of history seem to be everywhere in every corner, and people can find these old houses in different places.
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