Many historic towns and cities have existed for a long time, but the United States is considered a somewhat young US country. Looking at the year in which every city was created, we can find the oldest cities in every state. This article will give you a penetration into ten of America’s oldest cities.
Of course, it is crucial to recall that the Americans lived here and named these sites their home before European settlers came to America. Florida’s St. Augustine city leads the list, followed by New Mexico’s Santa Fe and Massachusetts’ Plymouth. Here’s what we know from the recorded history of America. These cities were established many years ago, and there are many charming places to explore, history and appeal. With a list of 10 of the oldest states in the United States, let’s discover more about the beginnings of America.
10. Weymouth, Massachusetts
Weymouth is currently part of Boston’s metro region but was just the second permanent colony in Massachusetts founded in 1622. Plymouth supporters founded it, but they were not fully ready to sustain a second outpost. Finally, the settlement was included in the Bay Colony of Massachusetts. The Weymouth Back River and the Weymouth Fore River are in the Weymouth, and its previously industrial environs are now part of the Weymouth Memorial State Park and Natural Areas. There are many streets named after people and trees in the city.
| Established Year: | 1622 |
| Founded by: | Thomas Weston |
9. Plymouth, Massachusetts
After crossing the Atlantic on the Mayflower, Plymouth is recognized as the spot where pilgrims landed on December 21, 1620. It was the location of the first Thanksgiving that most people knew of and the capital of the Colony of Plymouth until, in 1691, it incorporated with the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. Then Plymouth was taken over by indigenous peoples for millennia on the south-western shores of Massachusetts Bay. Were it not for the support of Squanto and others from the Wampanoag tribe during the winter of 1620-21, the Pilgrims may not have survived.
| Established Year: | 1620 |
| Founded by: | Plymouth Rock |
8. Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City occupies the territory where Dutch traders built up the New Netherlands Settlement in 1617, while other historians attribute the roots of Jersey City to the Netherlands’ 1630 concession. Originally, it was the people of Lenape. Although the people were already established at the time of the American Revolution until 1820, the town of Jersey was properly constituted. It was to be re-established as Jersey City 18 years later. Behind Newark, it is the second biggest town in New Jersey since 2017. The Jersey City waterfront has redeveloped the city and become one of the biggest banking and finance hubs in the U.S., leading to a Wall Street West sector and the city.
| Established Year: | 1617 |
| Founded by: | Michael Pauw |
7. Albany, New York
Albany is the capital and the oldest city of New York. The building of Fort Nassau on the banks of the Hudson River was settled for the first time in 1614. In praise of the Duke of Albany, the English gained possession in 1664. In 1797, it became the capital of New York and remained a regional economic and industrial force until the 20th century. The Empire State Plaza is a leading example of Bruthful and International style architecture and is housed in several state government offices in Albany. Albany has a rich history, business, culture, architecture, and higher education institutions.
| Established Year: | 1614 |
| Founded by: | Henry Hudson |
6. Newport News, Virginia
Like its adjacent city of Hampton, Newport News also traces its founding to the English. But it wasn’t until the 1880s that the newly established shipbuilding industry began to import Appalachian coal in the city. Today Newport News Shipbuilding continues to be one of the state’s major industrial workers of manufacturing aircraft and navy submarines. The Hampton Roads metropolitan region includes Newport News. This is located on the north bank of the James River, southerly of Skiffes Creek, on a long-distance and river mouth at Newport News Point in Hampton Roads harbor. It is on the southeastern view of the Virginia peninsula.
| Established Year: | 1613 |
| Founded by: | Captain Christopher Newport |
5. Kecoughtan, Virginia
The founders of Jamestown met for the first time with the indigenous inhabitants of the region at Kecoughtan, Virginia, which included residents of Kiko. Although that first connection in 1607 was largely peaceful, interactions had grown within some years, and the indigenous peoples were forced out of the town and killed by colonists in 1610. In 1690 the city became a part of Hampton’s bigger town. It still belongs to the bigger municipality today. In the 1690s, Kecoughtan became an autonomous city in the newly established city of Hampton. The only incorporated city of Elizabeth, Phoebus, both consented to consolidate the existing City of Hampton with Hampton in 1952.
| Established Year: | 1610 |
| Founded by: | Colonial and Native American Kecoughtan |
4. Hampton, Virginia
Hampton, Virginia, began as Point Comfort, an English outpost settled by the same people who established nearby Jamestown. Hampton was the main military station following American Independence, located at the mouth of James River and the entrance to the Bay of Chesapeake. Although Virginia was the Confederacy’s capital during the Civil War, Fort Monroe stayed together through the battle. Today, the city houses the Langley–Eustis Joint Bases and the Norfolk Naval Station directly over the river. The town has a wide range of commercial, industrial companies, residential and commercial regions, and historical landmarks, such as a NASCAR short-haul, the oldest Anglican parish in the Americas (1610), and a sprawling medieval six-sided stronghold.
| Established Year: | 1610 |
| Founded by: | Henry Wriothesley |
3. Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the mature state capital in the U.S. and the oldest city in New Mexico. The region was colonized by indigenous peoples long before Spanish colonists arrived in 1607. One Pueblo village, established around 900 A.D., was located in what is today downtown Santa Fe. Indigenous groups expelled the Spanish from 1680 to 1692, but the rebellion was eventually put down. In Spanish, Santa Fe persisted until Mexico proclaimed independence in 1810, and in 1836 it was relegated to the Texas Republic. After the Mexican-American War in Mexico, Santa Fe (and modern New Mexico) was not part of the U.S. until 1848. Santa Fe is nowadays a vibrant Spanish center famous for its Spanish architectural flair.
| Established Year: | 1607 |
| Founded by: | Pedro de Peralta |
2. Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown is the second-oldest city in the United States and North America’s first permanent English colony. It was established on April 26, 1607, and shortly after, the English King James Fort was named. In its initial years, the settlement was established, and in 1610 it was shortly abandoned. By 1624 Jamestown became a small town when Virginia became a UK Royal colony until 1698. By 1865, the Civil War’s conclusion had ruined most of the settlements in origin called Old Jamestowne. At the turn of the 1900s, conservation efforts started since the property was in private hands in Jamestown. In 1936, a national park was authorized, and a Colonial National Park was renamed in the city. In 2007, the British Queen Elizabeth II guest at Jamestown’s foundation celebrations marked the 400th anniversary.
| Established Year: | 1607 |
| Founded by: | Virginia Company of London |
1. St. Augustine, Florida
On September 8, 1565, on St. Augustine’s Festival, 11 days after the Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. It was the capital of Spain’s Florida for more than 200 years. The area was in British hands from 1763 until 1783. The capital of British East Florida was St. Augustine during this era. Control, which was transferred by a Treaty to the United States, returned to Spain in 1783 until 1822. Until 1824 when it was transferred to Tallahassee, St. Augustine remained the regional capital. In the 1880s, developer Henry Flagler started purchasing local railways and hotels, which became the main portion of Florida city and state economy from tourist places.
| Established Year: | 1565 |
| Founded by: | Pedro Menéndez de Avilés |
Conclusion!
Even though The United States was established on July 4, 1776, the oldest cities in the U.S. were established long before the nation was. Although most occupied areas were established by indigenous people long ago, they were all formed by European explorers, Spain, French, and English. Each state has historical cities and rich history. Therefore, the historical charm and architectural marvel of American oldest towns beat nothing for history enthusiasts.
