List of the oldest churches in the United States

Old Ship Church (1681), the oldest surviving Puritan meeting house in Massachusetts

The designation of the oldest church in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest Christian church congregation. Even here, there is the distinction between old church buildings that have been in continuous use as churches, and those that have been converted to other purposes; and between buildings that have been in continuous use as churches and those that were shuttered for many decades.

In terms of congregations, they are distinguished between early established congregations that have been in continuous existence (despite sometimes great theological changes), and early congregations that ceased to exist. Some of these churches are located in areas that were part of the thirteen original colonies that made up the United States in 1776. Others were built in states and territories that were later annexed, such as New Mexico and Puerto Rico. Sites on the list are generally from the First Period of American architecture or earlier.

To be listed here a site must:

• be the oldest church in a state, territory, large city (top 50), or oldest of its type (denomination, architectural, etc.);
• be freestanding (not a ruin or mound...there are separate lists for those); and/or
• be the oldest congregation of its type (denomination).

Oldest church buildings

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Building	Image	Location	State	First Built	Denomination	Notes
Cathedral of San Juan Bautista		Old San Juan, Puerto Rico	PR	1521	Roman Catholic	Oldest church building on US soil (extensive additions and renovations). The building has been on U.S. territory since Puerto Rico was annexed in 1898
San Miguel Mission		Santa Fe, New Mexico	NM	1610	Roman Catholic	Said to be the oldest church structure built in the continental USA. The original adobe walls and altar were built by the Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico, but much of the structure was rebuilt in 1710. Building has been within the U.S. since 1848, when the New Mexico territory was annexed.[1]
St. Luke's Church		Smithfield, Virginia	VA	1632 (or 1682)	Episcopal/Anglican	Said to be the oldest church in the United States in one of the thirteen original colonies, National Historic Landmark[2]
Jamestown Church		Jamestown, Virginia	VA	1639	Episcopal/Anglican	The church tower is the oldest surviving building in Jamestown, the 1st British settlement[3]
Old Ship Church		Hingham, Massachusetts	MA	1681	Puritan, Congregational, now Unitarian Universalist	Oldest church building in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States; only remaining 17th-century Puritan meetinghouse in the US.[4]
Third Haven Meeting House		Talbot County, Maryland	MD	1682	Quaker (Friends)	Oldest building in Maryland. Oldest Quaker meeting house in the United States.
Old Indian Meeting House		Mashpee, Massachusetts	MA	1684	Congregational/Native American	Oldest Native American church
King's Chapel		Boston, MA	MA	1686	Unitarian Christian	Oldest continually used religious site in Boston
Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow		Sleepy Hollow, New York	NY	1685	Dutch Reformed	Oldest church building in New York
Old Quaker Meeting House (Flushing, Queens)		Flushing, New York	NY	1694	Quaker (Friends)	Oldest religious building in New York City. The only surviving example in New York State of a typical 17th-century ecclesiastical frame structure of medieval design.[5]
Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes)		Wilmington, Delaware	DE	1698	Lutheran/Episcopal	Oldest Swedish Church in the United States
Great Friends Meeting House		Newport, Rhode Island	RI	1699	Quaker (Friends)	Quaker Meeting House, oldest surviving church in Rhode Island
Gloria Dei (Old Swedes' Church)		Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	PA	1700	Lutheran/Episcopal	Oldest surviving church in Philadelphia
St. Mary's Episcopal Church		Burlington	NJ	1703	Episcopal	Oldest church in New Jersey
St. Andrews Episcopal Church		Charleston, South Carolina	SC	1706	Episcopal	Oldest church in South Carolina
Old Narragansett Church		Wickford, Rhode Island	RI	1707	Episcopal	Oldest surviving colonial Episcopal church in Northeastern USA
Trinity Church, Newport		Newport, Rhode Island	RI	1726	Anglican/Episcopal	Oldest Episcopal Parish in Rhode Island
Christ Church (Ironsides, Maryland)		Nanjemoy, Maryland	MD	1732	Episcopal	Oldest Episcopal church building in Maryland
Augustus Lutheran Church		Trappe, Pennsylvania	PA	1743	Lutheran	Oldest unaltered Lutheran Church in use by the same congregation
St. Paul's Chapel (New York, New York)		New York, New York	NY	1766	Episcopal	Oldest church building in Manhattan
Barratt's Chapel		Frederica, Delaware	DE	1780	Methodist	Oldest Methodist church building in the U.S. built for that purpose
Mission San Juan Capistrano		San Juan Capistrano	CA	1782	Roman Catholic	Oldest building in use in California

Oldest Continuous Church Congregations

Building	Image	Location	State	Founded	Denomination	Notes
Cathedral of San Juan Bautista		Old San Juan, Puerto Rico	PR	1521	Roman Catholic	Oldest congregation in Puerto Rico, part of the U.S. since 1898
St. John's Episcopal Church (Hampton, Virginia)		Hampton, Virginia	VA	1610	Episcopal	Oldest English-speaking parish in continuous existence in the United States of America, current building from 1728[6]
First Parish Church in Plymouth		Plymouth, Massachusetts	MA	1620	Originally Separatist (Calvinist), then Congregational, now Unitarian Universalist	Oldest congregation in New England, oldest congregation in Massachusetts (building from 1899), founded by the Pilgrims
Marble Collegiate Church		New York, New York	NY	1628	Dutch Reformed	Oldest church congregation in New York State (building from 1854)
First Church in Boston		Boston, Massachusetts	MA	1630	Originally Puritan (Calvinist), then Congregational, now Unitarian Universalist	Oldest congregation in Boston, Massachusetts (building from 1968)
Christ Church		Stevensville, Maryland	MD	1632	Episcopal	Oldest congregation in Maryland, building from 1880 pictured. (current building from 1995)
First Baptist Church in America		Providence, Rhode Island	RI	1638	Baptist	First Baptist Church founded in America, oldest church congregation in Rhode Island, oldest Baptist congregation in America (building from 1775)
King's Chapel		Boston, MA	MA	1686	Unitarian Christian	Oldest continually used religious site in Boston
Trinity Church, Newport		Newport, Rhode Island	RI	1698	Anglican/Episcopal	Oldest Episcopal Parish in Rhode Island
Mother Bethel AME Church		Philadelphia	PA	1794	African Methodist Episcopal (AME)	AME Church and denomination (1816) founded in Philadelphia; oldest congregation in the United States (building from 1890)

By state

Alabama

• Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile, congregation established in 1703, took current name in 1781, current building completed in 1850 (Roman Catholic)
• Flint River Primitive Baptist Church, Possibly the oldest church congregation, founded in 1808 (Baptist)
• Canaan Baptist Church, Bessemer, was founded in 1818 (Southern Baptist).

Alaska

• Church of the Holy Ascension, Oldest church building, built in 1826 (Russian Orthodox)
• Russian Orthodox Church in Kodiak Alaska, Oldest congregation, founded in 1794 (Russian Orthodox)

Arkansas

• Smyrna Church, Searcy - Oldest church building in the state, built in 1856 (Methodist)^[7][8]

Arizona

• Mission San Xavier del Bac, Oldest church building, built 1780-1797 (Roman Catholic)

California

• Mission San Juan Capistrano, Oldest church building, built in 1782 (Roman Catholic)
• Mission San Diego de Alcalá, Oldest congregation, founded in 1769 (Roman Catholic)

Colorado

• Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Church, Oldest church building and congegation, built in 1857 (Roman Catholic)

Connecticut

• Abington Congregational Church, Oldest church building, built in 1751 (Congregational/United Church of Christ)
• First Church of Windsor, Oldest church congregation, founded in 1633 (Congregational/United Church of Christ)

Delaware

• Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes), Oldest church building in Delaware, built in 1698 (Lutheran/Episcopal)

Florida

• Old Christ Church (Pensacola, Florida), Oldest church in Florida on its original foundation, built in 1832 (Episcopal)

Georgia

• Jersusalem Lutheran Church, Oldest church building in Georgia, built in 1769 (Lutheran)
• First African Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia), claims continuous ties with Silver Bluff Baptist Church congregation as oldest black Baptist congregation, 1774-1775 (Baptist)
• Springfield Baptist Church (Augusta, Georgia) also has continuous congregational ties to Silver Bluff Baptist Church (Baptist)

Hawaii

• Mokuaikaua Church, Oldest church congregation and building, founded in 1820, built in 1837 (Congregational)

Idaho

• Old Mission, Oldest church building in Idaho, built in 1848 (Roman Catholic)

Illinois

• Church of the Holy Family (Cahokia), Oldest church building, built in 1799 (Roman Catholic)

Indiana

• Little Cedar Grove Baptist Church, Oldest church building, built in 1812 (Baptist)
• Old Cathedral Complex, Oldest congregation, founded in 1749, (Roman Catholic)

Iowa

• St. Raphael's Cathedral (Dubuque, Iowa), Oldest church congregation in Iowa, founded in 1833 (Roman Catholic)
• St. Anthony's Catholic Church (Davenport, Iowa), Oldest church building, built in 1838 (Roman Catholic)

Kansas

• White Church Christian Church, Oldest continuously used church building, built in 1832

Kentucky

• Cane Ridge Meeting House, Possibly the oldest church building, built in 1791 (Baptist)

Louisiana

• St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, Oldest congregation and church building in Louisiana, founded in 1718, and built in 1793 (Roman Catholic)

Maine

• First Congregational Church and Parsonage (Kittery, Maine), Possibly the oldest church building in Maine, built in 1729 (Congregational).
• First Parish Congregational Church of York, Maine. Oldest church congregation,^[9] (Congregational/United Church of Christ) founded before 1672, organized in the Congregational tradition by Shubael Dummer.^[10]

Maryland

• Third Haven Meeting House, oldest church building, built in 1682 (Quaker). Old Trinity Church, in Dorchester County, may be older; its construction date has been estimated as between 1660 and 1692. It is the oldest Episcopal Church building in Maryland (and is still in use).

Massachusetts

• First Church in Plymouth, Oldest congregation founded 1620 (building 1899), (Puritan, Congregational, now Unitarian Universalist)
• Old Ship Church, Oldest church building, built 1681, (Puritan, Congregational, now Unitarian Universalist)

Michigan

• Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church, Oldest congregation (Roman Catholic) founded 2 days after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Detroit in 1701.
• Mission Church, Oldest church building, built 1829-30 (Congregational)

Missouri

• St. Ferdinand's Shrine, Oldest church building, built in 1821 (Roman Catholic)

Mississippi

• Woodville Baptist Church, Oldest church building, built in 1809 (Baptist)

Minnesota

• Saint Peter's Church (Mendota, Minnesota), Oldest church in continuous use in Minnesota, built in 1857 (Roman Catholic)

Montana

• St. Mary's Mission (Montana), Oldest church congregation, founded in 1841 (Roman Catholic)

Nebraska

• First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, Oldest church building, built in 1856 (Presbyterian)^[11]

Nevada

• First Presbyterian Church of Carson City, Oldest church building, built in 1864 (Presbyterian)

New Hampshire

• First Parish Church in Dover, Oldest congregation founded in 1632 (Congregational/United Church of Christ)
• Newington Meeting House is the oldest church building in New Hampshire (1717, Congregational).

New Jersey

• St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Oldest church building, built in 1703 (Episcopal)
• Old Bergen Church, Oldest church congregation, founded in 1660 (Reformed)

New Mexico

• San Miguel Mission, Oldest church building, built in 1610 (Roman Catholic)

New York

• Marble Collegiate Church, Oldest congregation founded in 1628 (building 1851) (Reformed)
• Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, Oldest church building, built in 1685 (Reformed)

North Carolina

• St. Thomas Episcopal Church (Bath, North Carolina), Oldest church building, built in 1734 (Episcopal)

North Dakota

• First Presbyterian Church of Bismarck, Oldest congregation, founded in 1873 (Presbyterian)
• Glencoe Presbyterian Church, Oldest church building used by original congegation, built in 1885 (Presbyterian)

Ohio

• West Union Presbyterian Church, Oldest church building still in use as a church, built in 1810 (Presbyterian)

Oklahoma

• Wheelock Church, Oldest church building, built in 1846 (Presbyterian)

Oregon

• St. Paul Roman Catholic Church (St. Paul, Oregon), Oldest church building, built in 1846 (Roman Catholic)

Pennsylvania

• Merion Friends Meeting House, oldest church building in Pennsylvania (1695), Merion Station (Quaker).
• Gloria Dei (Old Swedes' Church), second oldest church building, built in 1700 (Lutheran/Episcopal)
• St. George's Methodist Church, built in 1784, one of the two oldest continuously used Methodist churches in the world (Barratt's Chapel, Frederica, Delaware, 1780, is older.)
• African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, founded 1792, oldest black Episcopal congregation in the United States (Episcopal)
• Mother Bethel AME Church, oldest African Methodist Episcopal congregation, founded 1794 (African Methodist Episcopal)
• African Methodist Episcopal Church, first African-American denomination in the United States, founded in 1816 (African Methodist Episcopal)

Puerto Rico

• Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, Oldest church building, built in 1521 (Roman Catholic)

Rhode Island

• First Baptist Church in America, oldest congregation founded in 1638 (building 1775) (Baptist).
• Trinity Church, Newport, oldest Anglican congregation, founded in 1698 (building 1726) (Episcopal).
• Great Friends Meeting House, oldest church building, built in 1699 (Quaker).
• St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Wickford, oldest Episcopal church building in New England (1707).

South Carolina

• St. Andrews Episcopal Church (Charleston, South Carolina), Oldest church building, built in 1706 (Episcopal)
• Silver Bluff Baptist Church, oldest black Baptist congregation in the nation, founded 1774-1775 (Baptist)

South Dakota

• Renner Lutheran Church, Oldest operating church building, built in 1878 (Lutheran)

Tennessee

• Sinking Creek Baptist Church, Oldest church building, Oldest congregation and building, founded in 1772 (Baptist)

Texas

• Cathedral of San Fernando, Possibly oldest church building, built 1738-1750 (Roman Catholic)
• Ysleta Mission, Possibly the oldest continuous congregation, founded in 1680 (Roman Catholic)

Utah

• Bountiful Tabernacle, Oldest Mormon Tabernacle, built in 1857 (Mormon)
• St. Mark's Cathedral, Salt Lake City, Oldest non-LDS Church building, built in 1871 (Episcopal)

Vermont

• First Congregational Church of Bennington, Oldest congregation, founded in 1762 (Congregational)
• Rockingham Meeting House, one of the two oldest church buildings, built in 1787 (Congregational)
• Thetford Meeting House, Thetford Hill, one of the two oldest church buildings, built in 1787 (Congregational)

Virginia

• St. John's Episcopal Church (Hampton, Virginia), Oldest English-speaking parish in continuous existence in the United States of America, founded in 1610 (Episcopal/Anglican)^[6]
• St. Luke's Church, Oldest building, built in 1632-1657 (Episcopal/Anglican)
• First Baptist Church (Petersburg, Virginia), contends as the oldest organized black Baptist congregation, organized 1774 (Baptist)

Washington

• Claquato Church, Possibly the oldest church building in the state, built in 1857 (Methodist)

Washington, D.C.

• St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Rock Creek Parish (Washington, D.C.), Oldest congregation and oldest church building, founded in 1717, current building constructed in 1775, but incorporating parts of the 1717 structure (Episcopal)

West Virginia

• Rehoboth Church, oldest church building, built in 1785 (Methodist), and oldest church building west of the main range of the Allegheny Mountains.

Wisconsin

• St. Gabriel’s Church, Oldest church building built in Wisconsin, built in 1835 (Roman Catholic)
• St. Joan of Arc's Chapel, Oldest church building in Wisconsin, built in 15th century Chasse, France; moved to Wisconsin 1965 (Roman Catholic)

Wyoming

• First United Methodist Church (Cheyenne, Wyoming), Possibly the oldest church congregation, founded in 1869 (Methodist)

See also

• Oldest buildings in the United States
• Oldest synagogues in the United States
• Oldest churches in the world

External links and references

• International Architecture database

1. ^ http://www.nosfarchives.org/sanmiguel.html
2. ^ W. Eugene Kleinbauer, Modern Perspectives in Western Art History: An Anthology, Medieval Academy of America, 1989, p. 315
3. ^ Nellie Urner Wallington , Historic Churches of America, 1907, p. 8
4. ^ "Old Ship Church", National Park Service
5. ^ National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings, 1970
6. ^ ^{a b} Tormey, James (April 2009). How Firm a Foundation. Richmond, VA: Diets Press. pp. 184. ISBN 978-0-87517-135-7. 
7. ^ Patsy Pipkin, "Walk Through History event brings to life memories of Smyrna Church", Arkansas Online, 13 Dec 2009, accessed 27 Sep 2010
8. ^ "Restoration Almost Complete for Arkansas 85", Texarkana Gazette, 27 Sep 2010, accessed 27 Sep 2010
9. ^ "First Parish Church". Meeting House History. First Parish Congregational Church of York. 2009. http://www.firstparishyork.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=78. Retrieved 13 December 2010. 
10. ^ Farmer, John (1838). "Memoirs of Ministers". In E. Cornelius (and others). Quarterly register and journal of the American education society. The American quarterly register. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cq0EAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA241&dq=%22Shubael+Dummer%22&hl=en&ei=nXcATfHmF8qwhQe047XnCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=%22Shubael%20Dummer%22&f=false. 
11. ^ http://1stpresbvue.org/