The process of settlement of the US has always fascinated me. I think it’s very unique, and I always think of it in contrast with, for instance, European countries. Some European countries today didn’t have the exact same borders when they were first established. Portugal, for instance, was established in what is today Northern Portugal and then expanded south, conquering land from the Moors. But when they conquered this land, there were already settlements and people there—structure and infrastructure that they took as their own.
The capital of Lisbon was already a great city, for instance, and had been around since Roman times. However, with the US, things aren’t quite the same. When Europeans arrived in America and when the US became independent on their own, they either found natives that they removed—not usually using any of their cities or structures but instead building their own—or they found deserted places that they settled for the first time.
As the colonization of the territory that would then become the US started on the East Coast, we can usually see a real difference in the timeline of when settlements were first established across the country. For this Article, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to go through each US state and find out what their oldest city is, when it was established, why, and how.
I would imagine the oldest settlements are the most interesting for you watching, and at least for me, they are. So, let’s start with those and go chronologically onwards. Remember, this is the single oldest city first established in each US state. I will provide a brief overview of each—not too long, since we have 50 of them to go through.
Florida (St. Augustine)
The state with the oldest first city is Florida. Oddly, Florida wasn’t even a part of the initial 13 colonies that declared independence from the British as the United States. It was a Spanish colony; however, there were already settlements there when the US annexed it, and so it enters this list in first place. Its oldest city is St. Augustine, established in 1565.
It was founded that year by Spanish Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Florida’s first governor. He named the settlement San Agustin for his ships bearing settlers, troops, and supplies from Spain, which had landed in Florida 11 days earlier on August 28, the feast day of Catholic Saint Augustine. The city served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years. It’s a city that has existed under the sovereignty of four different countries: the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Confederate States, and the United States.
New Mexico (Santa Fe)
The second state on this list has its oldest city as one that was also first settled by the Spanish. Located in New Mexico, Santa Fe was first established in 1607. This shows us how, I believe, St. Augustine is the only modern city that can trace its founding to the 16th century. Upon settling in the area, Spanish soldiers and Catholic missionaries tried to convert and rule over the local natives, the Pueblo. Its name is therefore fitting, meaning “Holy Faith” in Spanish. They revolted in 1670 and burned down every building except the Palace of the Governor. The natives controlled the area for a few years before it was retaken by the Spanish.
Massachusetts (Plymouth)
Next, we go back to the East Coast to Plymouth, Massachusetts, which was first established in 1620. Prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims, the location of Plymouth was a village of the Wampanoag tribe called Patuxet.
Soon after the Europeans arrived, it was the final landing site of the first voyage of the Mayflower. It was established in December 1620 by separatist Puritans who had broken away from the Church of England, believing that the church had not completed the work of the Protestant Reformation. It was these settlers who celebrated the first Thanksgiving.
Maine (Kittery)
A little further north is Kittery in Maine, which was established in 1623 and is therefore the state’s oldest city. The English settlement around the natural harbor of the Piscataqua River began this year. The town developed into a center for fishing, trade, and shipbuilding. Its name came from the family home of an early settler, Alexander Shapleigh.
New Hampshire (Dover)
Another Northeastern state is New Hampshire. Its oldest town is Dover, first settled in 1623. Its first name was the Latin “Pus,” later becoming “Dover,” which derives from the Bionic word for “waters.” Explorers from Bristol, England first settled the region. They were mostly fishermen, but a salt farm was also established there. It was a very small settlement at first, consisting of only three houses. It’s the seventh-oldest settlement in the United States.
New York (Albany)
The next state with the oldest city is actually New York, with Albany. Albany was first settled by the Dutch and, for that reason, their flag today still features the horizontal Dutch tricolor. It was first settled in 1624 with the construction of Fort Nassau by an explorer of the Dutch East India Company, who was, however, English, named Henry Hudson—after whom the Hudson River would be named.
The name of Albany as a town, however, comes from the Duke of York’s Scottish title, the Duke of Albany, when the English took control of the area in 1664.
Delaware (Lewes)
Moving on to Delaware, the oldest town in the state is Lewes. Its name derives from the Old English word “leu,” meaning hill, presumably referring to the hill on which the historic center of Lewes stands. It was founded as a whaling and trading post by Dutch settlers in 1631. The colony had a short first experience as a local tribe of Lenape natives killed all 32 settlers in 1632. The Dutch came back, and eventually, the British took over. Many of its old buildings are still preserved, if you want to visit and get an idea of how the colonists lived.
Virginia (Williamsburg)
Next is Williamsburg, Virginia, which was established in 1633. Williamsburg is famous for being old, so this makes sense. Initially, Jamestown was one of the very first settlements of English colonists in America. It could trace its origin back to even earlier in 1607. After a fire burned Jamestown to the ground, the government moved to Middle Plantation, which was then renamed Williamsburg in honor of the English king.
Connecticut (Windsor)
Then, Windsor in Connecticut. Initially, English colonists bought this land from the natives who had settled it first. They established a trading post and named it after Windsor Castle in England or, rather, the place where the castle is. Eventually, a town grew around it, lasting up to today.
Wisconsin (Green Bay)
Wisconsin’s oldest town is Green Bay, explored initially by French explorer Jean Nicolet. He named the region La Baie Verte for the color of the water, green, when he arrived in 1634. The name was then anglicized when the British took control of the area after the French and Indian War of 1754 to 1763.
Rhode Island (Providence)
Moving to Providence, Rhode Island, Providence was established in 1636 by Puritan theologian Roger Williams. He had just been banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for advocating the separation of church and state and condemning colonists’ confiscation of land from the natives. A very progressive man for his time, he named his new settlement Providence in gratitude for his newly found safety.
Michigan (Sault Ste. Marie)
Next is, surprisingly, Michigan with Sault Ste. Marie, settled in 1668. I think what happens here is that many, if not all, of the current East Coast states had much earlier settlements than these. It’s just that many of them didn’t last or ended up moving around, being resettled. Jamestown is a great example of that. So, these Midwest states end up making it further up on the list than they would have since we’re listing the oldest towns still in continuous existence up to today. In 1668, French missionaries Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette founded a Jesuit mission at the site, naming it after the French term for St. Mary’s Falls.
Maryland (Annapolis)
Maryland’s oldest town from 1649 is Annapolis, also founded by another Puritan exile from Virginia. Originally named Anne Arundel Town, the name was changed to honor Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway, the heir to the throne who became Queen Anne of Great Britain. It is apparently called the Athens of America due to its European-style layout rather than a grid.
New Jersey (Jersey City)
Moving to New Jersey, it’s Jersey City, which was first settled in 1660. It has been proven that natives had lived in the area for at least 10,000 years, but then Dutch, Swedish, and Finnish colonists arrived in the 17th century, and it was eventually established as a part of New Netherlands by the Dutch West India Company. Its name seems to come from the state name, which, in turn, comes from the town in England.
South Carolina (Charleston)
Next is Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston was settled in 1670 when, at the orders of King Charles II, after whom the town is named, several shiploads of settlers arrived from Bermuda and Barbados. An interesting fact is that it’s where the first official shot of the Civil War was fired.
Illinois (Peoria)
Illinois’s oldest city is Peoria, named after one of the five Illinois native tribes. It was founded as a settlement in 1680. There, French colonists and Native Americans lived in reasonable harmony until 1812 when U.S. soldiers burned down much of the village.
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
Then, the Pennsylvania city of Philadelphia, a Quaker town, was founded by William Penn when King Charles II gave him a grant over the Pennsylvania territory. Founded in 1681, it’s still one of the biggest cities in the U.S. today.
Alabama (Mobile)
Alabama’s oldest town is Mobile, and it’s been around since 1702. I think it’s the first on this list to make it into the 18th century. Settled by the French when they built Fort Louis, it was the first capital of French Louisiana, being switched around between Spain, France, the British, and finally the U.S. It takes its name from the local Mobile tribe.
North Carolina (Bath)
In North Carolina, the oldest town was settled in 1705, and it is Bath, named for John Granville, the Earl of Bath in England at the time. Initially settled by French Protestants who came from Virginia, it started off with around 12 houses and 50 people. Today, it’s still only home to 245 people—a pretty small but old place.
Louisiana (Natchitoches)
Louisiana’s oldest town is Natchitoches, named using a native term that I definitely mispronounced. Built just 4 years before New Orleans, it started in 1714 as a small outpost for the French to watch over the Red River, where trade was held with Spanish-held Mexico.
Mississippi (Natchez)
Next is Mississippi, whose oldest town is Natchitoches from 1716. Established also by French colonists, it was ceded to Great Britain in 1763 and then changed hands to Spain in 1779. It served as a hub for forced labor to supply the surrounding sugar and cotton farms.
Indiana (Vinecennes)
Vinecennes is Indiana’s oldest town, dating back to 1732. Established by French colonists as a fort to protect the local fur trade from the British, it eventually expanded into a town. We can see this fantastic blueprint of it from 1876. The town takes its name from its founder, François Mariso, who held the lordship of Vinen in France.
It’s interesting to see how many of these states that are now located in what used to be French Louisiana have their oldest towns founded by the French during those times.
Georgia (Savannah)
In Georgia, Savannah is the oldest town. It’s interesting how, in some states, the oldest town is also one of, or the most relevant city in modern days, while in others, it’s just a super small village with a couple of hundred people. Anyway, Savannah became known as America’s first planned city due to its meticulous grid of streets, named for the Savannah River, which probably derives from the names of the Shawnee Native American people.
Vermont (Westminster)
Then, Vermont, where Westminster is the oldest town, named after its namesake in England. Its first official name was actually Township Number One. It was founded in 1734 but didn’t have permanent settlers until 1761.
Missouri (Saint Genevieve)
St. Genevieve is next in Missouri, established in 1735. Founded by Canadian settlers and migrants from settlements in the Illinois colonies, it was named for St. Genevieve, the patron saint of the city of Paris in France.
South Dakota (Fort Pierre)
Fort Pierre is South Dakota’s oldest town. It was a thriving fur trade town after its establishment in 1743, being initially French, a part of the Louisiana Territory, and then falling into American hands, like I said, with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
West Virginia (Shepherdstown)
In West Virginia, we have Shepherdstown, settled in 1762 by Thomas Shepherd, after whom the town is named. I imagine there were a lot of shepherds, but I guess not. He had a land grant from the British to establish a settlement in this area. Initially, it was called Packhorse Ford and then Mecklenburg, but eventually, they changed the name. It still only has about 1,500 people today.
California (San Diego)
California’s oldest town is in contrast with West Virginia’s—one of its major cities today, San Diego. It was established in 1769 by the Spanish, named by a Spanish explorer after St. Didacus of Alcalá. It all started with the construction of a fort, as is the case with many on this list, Presidio of San Diego, and then the city grew around it.
Kentucky (Harrodsburg)
Harrodsburg is Kentucky’s oldest town since 1774. A frontier town, it was first established by explorer and soldier James Harrod, who took a few men to the area near the Salt and Kentucky rivers in this year and settled there. Again, a pretty small town today but still going, with up to 8,000 people.
Arizona (Tucson)
Tucson, Arizona, is the last on this list to be established before U.S. independence in 1775. Its establishment is very similar to that of San Diego. San Agustín del Tucson was founded as a walled fort by the Spanish as a part of their colonial empire. It then became a part of Mexico and then the U.S. Its name comes from the native word for the nearby Sentinel Mountain.
Tennessee (Jonesborough)
Next is Jonesborough in Tennessee, from 1779. It predates the state it’s in by 17 years, previously in territory held by North Carolina. It was also briefly the capital of the temporary and not official State of Franklin. In fact, it’s named after North Carolina legislator Willie Jones, who supported the state’s westward expansion across the Appalachian Mountains.
Texas (Nacogdoches)
Texas’s oldest town is Nacogdoches, also from 1779, and also one that I definitely just mispronounced. It’s a rare example of a town that was not only in a place ruled by the natives but actually a Native American town. It remained a Caddo settlement until the early 19th century. In 1716, Spain had established a mission there, but they didn’t really have sovereignty over it. Eventually, more French and Spanish settlers moved there, trading was set up, and a stone fort was built. The city has been under more flags than the state of Texas, claiming nine flags in addition to the six of Texas. It also flew under the flags of the temporary Magi Gutierrez Republic, the Long Republic, and the Fredonian Rebellion.
Ohio (Marietta)
Marietta is Ohio’s oldest town, founded in 1788 by pioneers of the Ohio Country. Marietta is the first permanent U.S. settlement in the newly established Northwest Territory, created in 1787, and what would later become the state of Ohio. It is named for Marie Antoinette, then queen of France, in honor of French aid in the American Revolution.
Arkansas (Georgetown)
Next is Georgetown, Arkansas’s oldest settlement, named after, and this sounds like a joke but it isn’t, three guys that lived there and initially bought, sold, and developed the land the town was on because apparently, they were all named George. Settled within French Louisiana and then later incorporated in the United States, today it has a little over 100 people, and sadly, they are not all named George.
Alaska (Kodiak)
All the way in Alaska, Kodiak is the oldest continuously inhabited place. It was actually established when Alaska was a Russian colony, and it was set as the first colonial capital. Kodiak was established by Russian fur hunters and traders of the North Pacific sea otter. Today, the city is one of the largest fishing ports in the U.S.
North Dakota (Pembina)
Pembina is North Dakota’s oldest town. It’s another example of a native settlement, first inhabited by the Chippewa natives. The French soon arrived and joined their community, living together in harmony under, I would imagine, native rules or no rules at all. However, in 1797, Charles Baptiste Chabo established a trading post there, and the settlement began to grow and become more official, if you will, initially under French rule.
Oregon (Astoria)
Moving to Oregon, we have Astoria. Astoria is named after America’s first millionaire, John Jacob Astor, who founded the town as a fur trading post. It’s the first on this list that was established in the 19th century, more specifically in 1811. A few years earlier, in 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition spent some time at Fort Clatsop, a small log structure nearby.
Hawaii (Hilo)
Although in the Pacific is Hawaii, its oldest town is Hilo. Hilo was settled thousands of years ago by Polynesian migrants; however, the official creation of the modern town dates to 1822 when Christian missionaries arrived to convert the population. Right after them came European whalers and sea traders that further developed the town.
Nebraska (Bellevue)
Back in the continental U.S., we have Bellevue in Nebraska. It’s the state’s oldest town and was established in 1822 as well. Its name means “beautiful view” in French. Originally founded as a trading post for the Missouri Fur Company, followed by a Christian mission, they were hopeful to become the state capital, but Omaha was chosen instead.
Oklahoma (Fort Gibson)
Further south in Oklahoma is Fort Gibson, established in 1824. The name is an indicator of how the settlement came to be. The families of military men, local Native Americans, and freed slaves settled around the fort and made it into a town. The original purpose of the fort was to protect both European and migrating Cherokee settlers from indigenous tribes, such as the Osage Nation, which were more aggressive toward them.
Minnesota (Wabasha)
Next is Minnesota, and its oldest town is Wabasha from 1826. Previously a Sioux territory, the nephew of Chief Wapasha set up a trading place. The town’s name comes from that chief. In the 2020 census, it had just over 2,500 people.
Kansas (Leavensworth)
Moving to Kansas, Leavenworth. Fort Leavenworth was founded in 1827 to protect the trade that passed through the region. Its strategic placement along the trade route helped it grow and turn into a full-on town.
Iowa (Dubuque)
In Iowa, Dubuque is the oldest continuous settlement. It’s named after Julien Dubuque, a French-Canadian fur trader, but it was only after his death that the government of the U.S. allowed the settling of the territory. In 1837, the land was rich in lead, which led a lot of migrants to the East Coast to move there. Get it? They were “led” by the lead.
Montana (Stetensville)
Stevensville, Montana, is the oldest town in the state, and it’s named after territorial governor Isaac Stevens. It was initially named St. Mary’s after the mission that Jesuit missionaries established there in 1841. Interestingly, this mission was actually done at the request of the Native Salish tribe, which wanted to learn about European methods of agriculture and medicine. It eventually led to their destruction.
Colorado (San Luis)
Next is San Luis in Colorado, founded in 1851 by Spanish farmers and named after the Catholic saint, St. Louis. It is a town today that only has around 600 people.
Nevada (Genoa)
Founded in the same year was Genoa in Nevada. Genoa was first settled in 1851 by Mormon pioneers in what was then the Mexican territory of Alta California. The settlement originated as a trading post called Mormon Station. Soon after, they renamed the settlement to Genoa in honor of Christopher Columbus’s birthplace, Genoa in Italy. Isolated by challenging travel conditions, such as the threat of bandits along the route to Salt Lake City, Genoa evolved nearly independently following its establishment by the Mormon settlers.
Utah (Ogden)
In Utah, Ogden is the oldest settlement, also from 1851. Originally named Fort Buenaventura, the land was conveyed to an American settler in a Mexican land grant. The settlement was then called Brownsville after Captain James Brown but was later renamed Ogden for a brigade leader of the Hudson’s Bay Company, Peter Skene Ogden.
Washington (Steilacoom)
All the way in the Northwest is Washington’s oldest town, Steilacoom, founded by British sailors in 1854. The waterfront colony briefly glowed with potential in the 1850s, aspiring to thrive as a timber town supplying the construction of San Francisco and other settlements around it. It even aimed to compete with San Francisco as the main West Coast city. However, despite being so far away from it, the town’s progress was stunted by the challenges of the internal conflict and especially the rise of more advanced ports in Seattle and Tacoma. Today, it quietly thrives as a residential community.
Idaho (Franklin)
Franklin is Idaho’s oldest town, established in 1860. Also a Mormon town, it was named after an apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There’s not much about it; it’s a small town of around 800 people today.
Wyoming (Cheyenne)
Finally, for this article, the oldest town in Wyoming, which has the youngest of all the states’ oldest settlements, is Cheyenne. Cheyenne was first established in 1867 with the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad. It takes its name from the Cheyenne native tribe, which previously inhabited the area. Due to the trains, it grew so quickly that it gained the nickname “Magic City of the Plains.” Today, it is the state capital and a city of over 65,000 people.
Conclusion
So, that is the oldest city in each U.S. state. Again, not the oldest cities in the country altogether, as, like I mentioned at the start, many states have older towns within them. Maybe Pennsylvania has 15 different towns older than Washington’s oldest town, but the point here was to understand and learn about the oldest continuously inhabited settlement up to today for each state.
Have you ever been to any of these towns? Did you notice any mistakes in the information I presented here? Let me know in the comments. Thanks so much for watching! Subscribe if you want to catch future videos, and I will see you next time for more general knowledge.
