CHoWs - By Year

Pre-1700


Holy Trinity, Old Swedes
Wilmington, DE
Swedish Lutheran, 1698
Stone
Hold mouse here for more info!Oldest in Delaware.
Old White Marsh Trappe
Trappe, MD
Church of England, 1685
Brick
Third Haven FMH
Easton, MD
Society of Friends, 1682
Wood
Hold mouse here for more info!Second oldest wooden meeting house in the country. Thanks to its location set well back from the streets of Easton, it might seem like a good place to drift back to the 18th century.
Trinity, Church Creek
Church Creek, MD
Church of England, 1675
Brick
Hold mouse here for more info!Oldest in Maryland.
Old Ship MH, Hingham
Hingham, MA
Congregational, 1681
Wood
Hold mouse here for more info!This is the oldest wooden house of worship in the US. It is also the oldest CHoW in Massachusetts.
Dutch Reformed, Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow, NY
Dutch Reformed, 1699
Stone
Hold mouse here for more info!This is indeed the famous Sleepy Hollow of Washington Irving’s story. And the cemetery contains numerous well-known people, including both Irving and the inspiration for the heroine of one of his stories, Katrina Van Tassell, plus luminaries such as Samuel Gompers, Andrew Carnegie and Walter Chrysler.
Flushing FMH Queens
Flushing, NY
Society of Friends, 1694
Wood
Hold mouse here for more info!This FMH is the oldest house of worship in the city of New York and in the state of New York. In nearly 20 years, I’ve never found it open.
Abington FMH
Jenkintown, PA
Society of Friends, 1699
Stone
Gloria Dei, Old Swedes, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
Church of England, 1697
Stone
Hold mouse here for more info!Perhaps surprisingly, this very old church still seems a part of the 18th century, even with I-95 just a few hundred feet away.
Lower Merion FMH
Merion Station, PA
Society of Friends, 1695
Stone
Hold mouse here for more info!Oldest in Pennsylvania.
Norriton Presbyterian MH
Norristown, PA
Presbyterian, 1698
Stone
Old Haverford FMH
Oakmont, PA
Society of Friends, 1697
Stone
Newport FMH
Newport, RI
Society of Friends, 1699
Wood
Hold mouse here for more info!Oldest in Rhode Island.
Grace Church
Yorktown, VA
Church of England, 1696
Stone
Jamestown Church Tower
Jamestown, VA
Church of England, 1639
Brick
Hold mouse here for more info!The tower is the only part remaining from the 1639 church at English America’s oldest permanent settlement, but work is underway to build a replica of the rest of the church, based on details found in 21st century excavations. This is probably the oldest church remnant in English America.
St. Luke's, Smithfield
Smithfield, VA
Church of England, 1682
Brick
Hold mouse here for more info!Architectural historians (which I’m not) have debated the exact age of this beautiful building for decades, if not centuries. It has now been confirmed through dendrochronology that the building dates to about 1682. Although it was believed for many years to have been built in the 1630s, that is no longer supported by science. It is one of the oldest churches in the colonies, and it stands in a setting which evokes the colonial period well.


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