This article lists the oldest extant buildings in Alaska, including extant buildings and structures constructed prior to and during the United States rule over
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. Only buildings built prior to 1880 are suitable for inclusion on this list, or the building must be the oldest of its type.
In order to qualify for the list, a
structure
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
must:
* be a recognizable building (defined as any human-made structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy);
* incorporate features of building work from the claimed date to at least in height and/or be a
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.
This consciously excludes ruins of limited height, roads and statues. Bridges may be included if they otherwise fulfill the above criteria. Dates for many of the oldest structures have been arrived at by
radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
or
dendrochronology
Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...
and should be considered approximate. If the exact year of initial construction is estimated, it will be shown as a range of dates.
List of oldest buildings
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Alaska
__NOTOC__
This is a list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska. There are approximately 400 listed sites in Alaska. Each of the state's List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, 30 boroughs ...
*
History of Alaska
The history of Alaska dates back to the Upper Paleolithic period (around 14,000 Anno Domini, BC), when Hunter-gatherer, foraging groups crossed the Beringia, Bering land bridge into what is now western Alaska. At the time of European contact by ...
*
Oldest buildings in the United States
This article lists the oldest buildings in the United States and its territories. The list includes sites in current states and territories which were not part of the original Thirteen Colonies when the United States of America was founded in 177 ...
References
External links
{{Alaska
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
Architecture in Alaska
Oldest
Buildings
A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout ...