The Oldest House in America

Tucked quietly along Santa Fe’s narrow De Vargas Street stands a modest adobe structure with a bold claim: “The Oldest House in the United States.” Weathered wooden beams jut from its earthen walls, and its crooked charm immediately hints at centuries of endurance.

The home sits within the Barrio de Analco Historic District, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Santa Fe. Analco—meaning “the other side of the river” in Nahuatl—was settled in the early 1600s, when Tlaxcalan Indians and Spanish colonists established a community just across the Santa Fe River from the main plaza. Archaeological studies and tree-ring dating suggest parts of the home date from around 1740–1767, though its foundation and lower walls may be much older, built atop remnants of a fourteenth-century Native American pueblo structure. This layering of histories—indigenous, Spanish colonial, and American—has given the house a mythical status.

The house is built in classic adobe style, with thick earthen walls designed to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Its rooms are small and simple, reflecting the daily lives of early settlers. Generations of families lived here, witnessing the rise and fall of Spanish rule, the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Mexican period, and eventually U.S. territorial days.

By the twentieth century, the house had become less a private residence and more a public curiosity. Travelers and historians alike were drawn to its age and stories. Today, it serves as a museum and shop, welcoming visitors who want to step across its creaking floors and imagine what life was like in Santa Fe centuries ago.

While scholars debate whether it truly deserves the title of “oldest house” in the country, few deny its significance. The De Vargas Street House embodies the cultural crossroads of New Mexico—Native, Spanish, and Anglo worlds all layered into one humble adobe dwelling. Visitors who duck through its low doorway don’t just see an old house—they step into the very bones of Santa Fe’s history.