Housing

The Oldest House For Sale in America

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: May 18, 2021 7:55 am

It is not unusual to find a home built before 1800 for sale in what were the 13 original colonies. This is particularly true of those in the northeast. There are relatively large numbers of these very hold homes in and around Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. One of these, built in 1652, now is the oldest house for sale in the United States.

The house at 8777 Toddsbury Lane in Gloucester, Virginia, carries a price tag of $4 million. It was once called “Toddsbury” and dubbed “Jewel of Tidewater.” It was built on the North River, on which it has one mile of riverfront land.

The house sits on 56.4 acres. It has six bedrooms, three and a half baths, an elevator and a chef’s kitchen, all in a 7,938-square-foot structure. The property also has a three-bedroom cottage, a carriage house, two docks and a boathouse.

The house is further described as follows:

The manor home circa 1652, is one of the earliest homes in the United States and is set on a private peninsula with a tree lined driveway. The magnificent and meticulously planned grounds include a brick walled one acre garden, circa 1690, with most recently design by Charles Freeman Gillette, known for creating the Virginia Garden.

The house is located in Gloucester County, which has a population of 37,222, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Eighty-five percent of that population is white. The median household income is $70,537, well above the national average, but slightly below that of Virginia. The poverty rate is a low 8.8%.

The median value of an owner-occupied home in the county is $230,000. That puts 8777 Toddsbury Lane in the top 1% on the scale of home prices. These county figures can be somewhat misleading because it has some smaller areas of substantial affluence. Several homes nearby are worth over $1 million.

Click here to see which county has the most expensive homes in America.