Each State’s Oldest Historic Town

The United States was founded in 1776 when Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence and although this country has just celebrated its 247th birthday, many of its oldest continuously occupied settlements far predate the founding of America. A few of the oldest towns around the United States have continued to grow over the years and are now big cities. Some, while far from their state’s most populous metropolises, remain important as state capitals like Albany, New York, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Others, like Bath, North Carolina, and Kittery, Maine are quaint towns with a lot to offer visitors looking for history, architecture, and urban design from an earlier era. 

While the majority of the oldest cities on this list are in the Northeast and were founded by English and Dutch settlers, the oldest city is Saint Augustine, Florida, established in 1565 by the Spanish. Santa Fe, New Mexico, also founded by the Spanish, dates from 1607, tying it for second-oldest with Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English colony in what would become the United States. (Of course, because we are a comparatively young country, no city in America is included among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.)

24/7 Tempo drew on numerous sources, including Smithsonian Magazine, Only in Your State, World Atlas, Travel Channel, and others in assembling our list of each state’s oldest town, verifying founding dates and other historical data through official city and state websites. (As for the states themselves, this is how your state was founded.)

Included on this list are only towns, cities, and census-designated places, and only those that have existed continuously as residential and business communities since they were first established. We did not include Native American settlements, most of which, of course, are much older than those founded by Europeans.

Here is each state’s oldest historic town 

Mobile, AL

• Founded: 1702

Sitka, AK

• Founded: 1799

Tucson, AZ

• Founded: 1775

Batesville, AR

• Founded: 1810

San Diego and Santa Cruz, CA

• Founded: 1769

San Luis, CO

• Founded: 1851

Windsor, CT

• Founded: 1633

Lewes, DE

• Founded: 1631

Saint Augustine, FL

• Founded: 1565

Savannah, GA

• Founded: 1733

Hilo, HI

• Founded: 1902

Franklin, ID

• Founded: 1860

Peoria, IL

• Founded: 1680

Vincennes, IN

• Founded: 1732

Dubuque, IA

• Founded: 1837

Leavenworth, KS

• Founded: 1827

Harrodsburg, KY

• Founded: 1774

Natchitoches, LA

• Founded: 1714

Kittery, ME

• Founded: 1647

St. Mary’s City, MD

• Founded: 1634

Plymouth, MA

• Founded: 1620

Sault Ste. Marie, MI

• Founded: 1668

Wabasha, MN

• Founded: 1830

Biloxi, MS

• Founded: 1699

St. Genevieve, MO

• Founded: 1735

Fort Benton, MT

• Founded: 1846

Omaha, NE

• Founded: 1854

Genoa, NV

• Founded: 1850

Dover, NH

• Founded: 1623

Jersey City, NJ

• Founded: 1617

Santa Fe, NM

• Founded: 1607

Albany, NY

• Founded: 1614

Bath, NC

• Founded: 1705

Pembina, ND

• Founded: 1850

Martins Ferry, OH

• Founded: 1779

Fort Gibson, OK

• Founded: 1824

Astoria, OR

• Founded: 1811

Chester, PA

• Founded: 1644

Providence, RI

• Founded: 1636

Charleston, SC

• Founded: 1670

Fort Pierre, SD

• Founded: 1832

Jonesborough, TN

• Founded: 1779

Ysleta (part of El Paso), TX

• Founded: 1680

Ogden, UT

• Founded: 1845

Westminster, VT

• Founded: 1735

Jamestown, VA

• Founded: 1607

Steilacoom, WA

• Founded: 1851

Shepherdstown and Romney, WV

• Founded: 1762

Green Bay, WI

• Founded: 1765

Cheyenne, WY

• Founded: 1867