Some of America’s oldest continuously occupied settlements have evolved into booming cities that continue to grow, while others have seen their heyday pass but still retain their history and charm. Many of the country’s earliest towns once functioned as trading hubs, military installations, or regional centers of power for colonial governments. (These are American towns founded before the American revolution.)
Not surprisingly, most of our oldest municipalities, dating from the 17th century, are in the Northeast, where the English and the Dutch first established their communities — though the oldest of all is St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in Florida in 1565. By international standards, of course, that isn’t very old. By way of comparison, consider the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
In assembling our list of each state’s oldest town, we drew on numerous sources, including Britannica, ThoughtCo, Smithsonian Magazine, Oldest, Only in Your State, World Atlas, Travel Channel, and Insider, and verified founding dates and other historical data through official city and state websites.
We included only towns, cities, census-designated places, and listed only those which have existed continuously as residential and business communities since they were first established. We did not include Native American settlements, most of which are of course much older than those founded by Europeans. Even within these parameters, making definitive assessments of a town’s age can be difficult. Should it be judged by the date of its founding, settlement, incorporation?
In most cases, we have chosen the year in which a permanent settlement was first established on the site of what has become a modern city or even just sustained itself as a small hamlet. There are inevitably disputes between towns over who was really first (at least three Vermont communities, for instance, claim the title), but the places on this list are most likely indeed the oldest.
Mobile, Alabama
> Founded: 1702
Kodiak (founded as Pavlovsk Gavan), Alaska
> Founded: 1792
Tubac, Arizona
> Founded: 1752
Georgetown, Arkansas
> Founded: 1789
San Diego, California
> Founded: 1769
San Luis, Colorado
> Founded: 1851
Windsor (founded as Dorchester), Connecticut
> Founded: 1633
Lewes, Delaware
> Founded: 1631
St. Augustine, Florida
> Founded: 1565
Savannah, Georgia
> Founded: 1733
Hilo, Hawaii
> Founded: 1822
Franklin, Idaho
> Founded: 1860
Kaskaskia, Illinois
> Founded: 1703
Vincennes, Indiana
> Founded: 1732
Dubuque, Iowa
> Founded: 1837
Leavenworth, Kansas
> Founded: 1827
Harrodsburg, Kentucky
> Founded: 1774
Natchitoches, Louisiana
> Founded: 1714
Biddeford, Maine
> Founded: 1631
St. Mary’s City, Maryland
> Founded: 1634
Plymouth, Massachusetts
> Founded: 1620
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
> Founded: 1668
Wabasha, Minnesota
> Founded: 1830
Ocean Springs (founded as Fort Maurepas), Mississippi
> Founded: 1699
St. Genevieve, Missouri
> Founded: 1735
Stevensville, Montana
> Founded: 1841
Bellevue, Nebraska
> Founded: 1822
Genoa, Nevada
> Founded: 1851
Dover, New Hampshire
> Founded: 1623
Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
> Founded: 1669
Santa Fe, New Mexico
> Founded: 1610
Albany, New York
> Founded: 1686
Bath, North Carolina
> Founded: 1705
Pembina, North Dakota
> Founded: 1797
Marietta, Ohio
> Founded: 1788
Salina, Oklahoma
> Founded: 1796
Astoria, Oregon
> Founded: 1811
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> Founded: 1681
Providence, Rhode Island
> Founded: 1636
Charleston, South Carolina
> Founded: 1670
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
> Founded: 1856
Elizabethton, Tennessee
> Founded: 1769
Nacogdoches, Texas
> Founded: 1779
Ogden (founded as Fort Buenaventura), Utah
> Founded: 1851
Bennington, Vermont
> Founded: 1749
Jamestown, Virginia
> Founded: 1607
Steilacoom, Washington
> Founded: 1854
Shepherdstown / Romney, West Virginia
> Founded: 1762
Green Bay, Wisconsin
> Founded: 1634
Cheyenne, Wyoming
> Founded: 1867