The Oldest Buildings In Columbus (And Ohio’s Oldest, Too)

Updated: July 30, 2026

Columbus is a lot of things, but old isn’t one of them.

The city was founded just over 200 years ago as the capital of the new state of Ohio. As such, Columbus doesn’t always have the same “lived-in” feel as older cities out east, like Boston or Philadelphia or even Pittsburgh. We weren’t big or important enough early enough to have a lot of lingering old buildings.

It didn’t help that we demolished much of what we had, such as a train station designed by legendary architect Daniel Burnham (the last remnants of which sit in McPherson Commons in the Arena District) to make way for the convention center. It’s too bad, really.

There are no structures in Columbus that qualify as ancient, medieval, or what historians refer to as ‘hella old.’ We do have a handful of what you might call ‘reasonably old buildings,’ which according to my not-very-scientific definition means ‘at least 200 years old.’ And if you’re willing to call buildings from the first half of the 19th century ‘old,’ then there’s quite a lot to see.

Construction dates in this guide come from the Columbus Register of Historic Properties, National Register of Historic Places listings, and the Franklinton Historical Society’s pioneer-homes records. Each building’s current status was re-checked in July 2026.

Jump to: Ohio’s oldest | German Village | Old Dublin | Orange Johnson House | Old Worthington | Ripley House | Overdier House | Franklinton Post Office | Beers Log Cabin | Best of the Rest | FAQ

The Oldest Building In Ohio?

Ohio’s oldest standing building is usually given as the Rufus Putnam House in Marietta, built in 1788 and now enclosed inside the Campus Martius Museum, with some of its timbers reused from a 1760s frontier blockhouse. Coshocton’s Old Stone Fort is older by some accounts, but it stood outside any permanent settlement, so most lists leave it out.

The Ohio Company Land Office, also from 1788, sits at Campus Martius too. For continuous commercial use, the answer is right here in central Ohio: Worthington’s Kilbourne Commercial Building (1808), which you’ll meet below. And the Adena and Hopewell earthworks scattered across the region predate everything on this list by a couple thousand years.

German Village

Date Built: 1830’s—on

We’ll start with the obvious: one of the largest privately-funded historic districts in the United States, and a Columbus favorite, is German Village. Platted in 1814 on the tiny capital’s south side, the land became the epicenter for the region’s incoming flux of German immigrants by the 1830s and remained that way for a century. The newcomers provided pivotal labor for the Ohio Statehouse, which began construction in 1839. Most buildings you see in German Village today were built between 1850-1910.

Old Dublin

Date Built: 1820’s—on

Walk along High Street or S. Riverview St. in Dublin and you’ll find buildings that merely look old next to buildings that actually are old, including several listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Of particular note are the Old Stone Tavern at 83 S. Riverview St. (now a private residence) built in 1824 and the former Hutchinson Tavern, a stagecoach inn on the southwest corner of High St. and St. Rt. 161. Built in 1832, the building is now a Donatos Pizza.

Down the road a stretch at 4264 Dublin Rd. is another stone house built in 1816. This is a private residence.

Orange Johnson House

Address: 956 High St., Worthington
Date Built: 1811-1819

One of the few remaining local pioneer homes still located in its original spot, the Orange Johnson House was originally a simple, six-room setup before the Johnsons built the larger Federal-style addition that fronts High St. in 1819. Today, the Worthington Historical Society operates a museum out of the house that demonstrates life in the early 19th century.

Old Worthington

Date Built: 1808—on

Worthington, predating Columbus by nine years, has one of the largest concentrations of buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Central Ohio. Among them is the John Snow House at 41 W. New England Ave., built in 1815. While not home to the King of the North, Snow was a loyal figure at the Masonic Temple built in 1820 on 634 N. High St.

It’s long been called the oldest Masonic Temple west of the Alleghenies in continuous use, though the lodge now meets on W. Dublin-Granville Rd. and the 1820 building holds the Worthington Masonic Museum. Just up the street from the temple is the Kilbourne Commercial Building at 679-681 N. High St., once home to Worthington founder James Kilbourne’s survey office, retail store, newspaper offices, and hotel. Built in 1808, it’s considered the oldest commercial building in continuous use in Ohio.

Ripley House

Address: 623 High St., Worthington
Date Built: 1807-1819

The Ripley House in Worthington has a bit of a sordid past. In 1825, Brigadier General Roswell Ripley of the Confederacy was born in the house. Ripley was among those directing the bombardment of Fort Sumter at the start of the Civil War. A plaque naming the building as his birthplace sat in front of the building until 2017, when the violent events in Charlottesville forced municipalities across the country to reconsider how they remember those who fought in the Confederacy.

Jacob Overdier House and Lucas Sullivant Land Office

Address: 570 W. Broad St., Columbus
Date Built: 1807 and 1822

General William Henry Harrison, or “Old Tippecanoe” to his friends, used the Jacob Overdier House (the Franklinton Historical Society calls it the Harrison House) as his headquarters during the War of 1812. Harrison, of course, is famous for being President of the United States for 31 days and then dying, having caught pneumonia three weeks into his presidency. He has the dubious honor of owning two American history superlatives: serving the shortest presidential tenure and giving the longest inaugural address. At two hours long, his inaugural address accounted for approximately .27% of his entire presidency. Well done, Tippecanoe.

The Lucas Sullivant Land Office, built in 1822, is directly behind the house. It originally sat on Gay St. but was moved here in the 1980s to avoid demolition. It was from this building Franklinton founder Lucas Sullivant sold land on both sides of the river. The Columbus Historical Society runs programming at the site today, including summer open houses.

Franklinton Post Office

Address: 72 S. Gift St., Columbus
Date Built: 1807

The oldest building in Columbus still on its original foundations is the David Deardurff House, or the old Franklinton post office. Deardurff ran Franklinton’s post office out of a side room until 1834 when Columbus built a larger one. Various families lived in the log cabin all the way into the 1950s. The building was in pretty rough shape into this millennium, but the current owners have at least given the building a nice red exterior. A renovation sign has sat out front for years, and the original log blanks are still clearly visible in the front window. No word on future plans.

Beers Family Log Cabin

Address: 40 E. Norwich Ave., Columbus
Date Built: 1804

The oldest known continually-occupied house in Columbus is found, of all places, among rowdy student rentals just north of campus. Originally built near present-day Dodridge St., the Beers Family Log Cabin is privately owned and has belonged to only two families during its entire existence. Since 2024 the cabin has been available as a short-term rental, so booking a night in the oldest house in Columbus is possible.

The Best of the Rest

There are plenty of slightly newer buildings around town more accessible to the public. The Kelton House, built in 1852, ran a museum and interpretive center on the underground railroad until a November 2025 gas explosion and fire left the building a total loss. It’s closed indefinitely. The fraternity house on 15th and Indianola, now a Pi Kappa Alpha chapter house, was built the same year. The Caroline Brown house, built around 1854 at 1200 E. Livingston Ave., belonged to an emancipated slave. The Cultural Arts Center, once an armory during the Civil War, was built in 1861 and continued to function as an armory until the 1970’s. Downtown, the Hayden Building at 20 E. Broad St. (1869) is the oldest commercial building still standing on Capitol Square. Along the Scioto near Griggs Dam, the stone Richards House has stood since 1816 and later housed the dam tender.

Of course, every single mound from the Adena and Hopewell cultures outdates any structures here by hundreds, if not thousands of years.

There are mounds scattered across the region, including Shrum Mound in Marble Cliff, Jeffers Mound in Worthington, and Adena mounds in Highbanks Metro Park. Archaeologists have found evidence of human activity in places like Jeffers Mound, which was built sometime between 100 BC and 400 AD, dating back to 8,000 BC.

I hear you—mounds are a little harder to appreciate than brick-and-mortar structures. Have you considered, though, that the first Ohioans perhaps did build such structures and later demolished them to put up a convention center? Could be.

Oldest Buildings In Columbus: FAQ

What is the oldest building in Columbus?

The David Deardurff House at 72 S. Gift St., built in 1807, is the oldest building in Columbus still standing on its original foundation. The Beers Family Log Cabin is three years older, but it was moved to its Norwich Avenue lot in 1904, which is why the two claims coexist.

What is the oldest house in Columbus?

The Beers Family Log Cabin at 40 E. Norwich Ave., built in 1804 near present-day Dodridge Street. It’s the oldest continually occupied house in the city and has been available as a short-term rental since 2024.

What is the oldest building in Ohio?

The Rufus Putnam House in Marietta, dated to 1788 and now enclosed within the Campus Martius Museum. Ohio History Connection traces some of its timbers to a blockhouse of the 1760s. The Ohio Company Land Office, also 1788 and also in Marietta, is its close contemporary.

Is the Old Stone Fort really Ohio’s oldest building?

The stone structure near Coshocton is sometimes dated to about 1679, which would make it the oldest by a century. It’s left off most lists because it wasn’t part of a permanent settlement, and its origin is disputed.

What is the oldest commercial building in Ohio?

The Kilbourne Commercial Building at 679–681 N. High St. in Worthington, built in 1808 and considered the oldest commercial building in continuous use in the state.

What is the oldest church in Ohio?

West Union Presbyterian Church, built in 1810 in Adams County, is generally cited as the oldest church building in Ohio still in active use.

How old is the Ohio Statehouse?

Construction began in 1839, German Village labor did much of the work, and the building was finished in 1861.

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