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Are you curious about what the oldest cities in the US are? Click on to discover the 15 oldest cities in the US that still exist and thrive today.
Juan Bautiza and other Spanish colonists founded the Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate bay, which ultimately became the settlement of San Francisco. In the 1800s, the city was found to have gold, so thousands of people moved there during the Gold Rush.
Known for its vibrant LGBTQ+ community, the city has transformed into a business and technology hub. It's also known for being one of the most expensive places to live in the US.
In 1733, English General James Oglethorpe arrived with 120 passengers on the Savannah River. He named the colony Georgia after King George II. After agreeing to peace with the local tribe, Oglethorpe decided to plan out the city as a grid, making Savannah the first planned city in the US. In his plans, he designed wide streets that could accommodate public squares.
Today, 22 out of the 24 public squares that Oglethorpe planned back in the 1600s still exist.
In 1718, Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville founded Nouvelle-Orléans on a curve of the Mississippi River. From 1762, the Spanish owned the musical city, but they transferred it back to France in 1801, before the US bought it in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
Despite the devastation from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the birthplace of jazz still has a huge musical scene.
San Antonio was founded by the Spanish and named after St. Anthony of Padua. When they built the Mission San Antonio de Valero, commonly known as the Alamo (pictured), the city was born.
Today, San Antonio is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and tourists flock to the city every year to visit the Alamo.
Before the creation of New Orleans, Bienville settled in French Louisiana in 1702. By 1711, the settlement had moved to Mobile, Alabama, and it became the capital city of French Louisiana. The city was named after the local Native American tribe known as the Maubila.
An important trading port during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, Mobile is today known for the University of Mobile, the University of South Alabama, the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, and the Mobile Museum of Art.
In 1699, French explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville arrived in Biloxi Bay. Biloxi means "first people." Several different countries had control of the city, including Britain, Spain, and the Confederate States of America.
Biloxi is now famous for its casinos, as there are eight within the city and four nearby on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
In 1681, King Charles II of England gave William Penn a charter to colonize what became known as Pennsylvania. At the time, Penn was a Quaker, so he signed a peace treaty with the Native Americans in the area. That peace treaty, however, would be disrupted when slaves arrived in the city. Eventually, they passed the Germantown Petition Against Slavery in 1688, which was the first official ban on slavery in history.
Today, Philadelphia is known for the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the Rocky statue.
English colonists settled near the Ashley River in 1670 and named their town Charles Towne after King Charles II. Ten years later, the city was moved to where Charleston is today. The city is also known for its role in the Civil War, when it became an early supporter of slavery.
Now the famous Southern city is known for its historic charm, and its Fort Sumter National Monument.
People who sought religious freedom settled the Chesapeake Bay in 1649 and named their settlement Providence. It was later renamed Annapolis after Princess Anne, who became queen in 1702. The city eventually became a political and cultural hub, known as the "Athens of America."
Today, Annapolis is famous for the US Naval Academy, the Maryland State House, and its seafood cuisine.
In 1636, Anne Hutchinson left Massachusetts as a religious refugee with a group of followers and founded the town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. When differences broke out, some moved south and officially founded Newport.
Eventually the city turned into a summer destination for the country's wealthiest, which it still is to this day.
Williamsburg, Virginia, was founded in 1632, and a few decades later the College of William & Mary was built. After Jamestown burned down in 1698, the capital of Virginia was moved to Williamsburg, which was named after King William III.
Williamsburg still welcomes students to its famous college. It's also known as a tourist destination, as Williamsburg hosts colonial reenactments.
In the early 1600s, the area that would become known as Boston was controlled by Native Americans until John Smith named it New England to attract European settlers. By 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established and later renamed Boston after a small English town.
Home to the Boston Latin School and Harvard University, the city became an educational haven. It's also known for the Boston Common, the Public Gardens, and Fenway Park.
What we now call NYC was originally founded as a Dutch colony and called New Amsterdam. It wasn't renamed New York until the British took it over in 1664.
Today, New York City is made up of five boroughs and is the most populated city in the US.
Native Americans were the first residents of the area that would become present-day Santa Fe. Historians aren't clear exactly when Santa Fe was founded, but we know that Governor General of New Mexico Don Pedro de Peralta made it the state's capital city in 1610.
Today, the city is home to the country's oldest public building, the Palace of Governors (pictured).
Widely considered the oldest continually inhabited city in the US, St. Augustine was founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. The city remained Spain's capital in that region for 200 years before the British took control of it in the 1700s.
Over 450 years later, St. Augustine is a bustling city, known for its Spanish architecture and beautiful beaches.
Sources: (Business Insider) (Stacker)
See also: Mind-blowing facts about the US that most Americans would be shocked to learn
These are the oldest cities in the US
Have you been to any of the 15 oldest American cities?
TRAVEL History
Although the US didn't achieve independence from Great Britain until 1776, many cities in the country were established much earlier. From North to South, Spanish, French, and English colonizers began arriving at the shores of the US in the early 16th century to establish settlements, some of which still exist today. But while these settlements grew into cities, it's important to note that most occupied lands had been settled long before by Indigenous peoples.
Are you curious about what the oldest cities in the US are? Click on to discover the 15 oldest cities in the US that still exist and thrive today.