The oldest established town in every US state

Some think of the United States as a young nation, but many of its towns have histories that stretch back centuries.

From Native American communities to early colonial settlers, many of the towns in today’s maps have been occupied for hundreds of years. But America’s history is complicated, and uncountable towns with rich histories fell out of the history books once they became inhabited.

To determine the oldest town in every state for this list, we defined it on the founding of a place by the year of its first permanent settlement, when people arrived and formally established a place.

The unfortunate reality is that many towns in the US were already home to Native American communities — dating back thousands of years — by the time they were “founded.”

Members of Native American communities were expelled or wiped out by colonizing settlers who claimed the land as their own, and the history of colonial America often erases their stories. Photographers, historians, and advocates, including Matika Wilbur, are working to keep these stories alive.

With this context in mind, here’s the oldest established town in every state.

ALABAMA: Mobile, est. 1702

A major port city, Mobile was founded by the French in 1702. While other sources credit Childersburg, Alabama, as the oldest continually occupied city dating back to 1540, it wasn’t actually established until 1889.

ALASKA: Kodiak, est. 1792

Kodiak was founded in 1792 by Aleksandr Andreyevich Baranov, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Baranov was a Russian trader and merchant, who became manager of the Russian-American Company.

ARIZONA: Tubac, est. 1752

Established as a Spanish military settlement in 1752, Tubac is the oldest European settlement in Arizona. The city’s website notes that indigenous Hohokam and O’odham people had already inhabited the city prior to the arrival of the Spanish.

The state’s oldest city, Tucson, was officially founded in 1775, though the City of Tucson’s official website says it has been continuously settled for over 12,000 years.

ARKANSAS: Arkansas Post, est. 1686

Arkansas Post was technically the first city in Arkansas, having been established as a trading post by the French in 1686, according to the National Park Service. But it was mostly destroyed in the Civil War and has since become a state park.

Georgetown is the second oldest city, founded in 1789, but is still a functioning city today.

CALIFORNIA: San Diego, est. 1769

Explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno renamed San Diego (formerly San Miguel) in 1602, but Spanish explorers dedicated the first California mission, San Diego de Alcalá, in 1769, San Diego Magazine reported.

Santa Cruz was also dedicated in 1769.

COLORADO: San Luis, est. 1851

San Luis was established in 1851, by Hispano farmers, and named after a Catholic saint, according to the state’s official website and The Tennessean.

CONNECTICUT: Windsor, est. 1633

Settlers from Plymouth Colony built the first trading house in Windsor in 1633 on an expanse of land they bought from Native Americans who were living there, per the state’s history website.

DELAWARE: Lewes, est. 1631

The Dutch first settled in Lewes in 1631, according to its Chamber of Commerce. It calls itself “The first town in the first state,” since Delaware was the first to ratify the Constitution.

FLORIDA: St. Augustine, est. 1565

According to many historians, St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US, having been established by the Spanish in 1565.

GEORGIA: Savannah, est. 1733

General James Oglethorpe and 120 passengers traveling on a ship named “Anne” docked along the Savannah River in 1733, and the city of Savannah was born. It became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia.

HAWAII: Hilo, est. 1822

Hilo’s history dates back to 1100 AD. Christian missionaries arrived in 1822, and it became a center of whaling and trade.

IDAHO: Franklin, est. 1860

Franklin was founded in 1860 by a small group of Mormon settlers and was named for Apostle Franklin D. Richards.

ILLINOIS: Peoria, est. 1680

French settlers Robert Cavalier Sieur de LaSalle and Henri de Tonti built Fort Crevecoeur on the bank the Illinois River in 1680, according to the Peoria Historical Society. Soon, a village grew around it.

INDIANA: Vincennes, est. 1732

Vincennes was a French fur trading post when it was established in 1732 along the Wabash River, according to the city’s official website.

IOWA: Dubuque, est. 1837

Dubuque was established in 1837 by Julien Dubuque, a French-Canadian fur trader. He worked with the local Mesquakie Indian tribe to manage lead mines in the area.

KANSAS: Leavenworth, est. 1827

Fort Leavenworth was established in 1827 and is still in use today, making it the third-oldest continuously active military base in the US. It was the largest city on the Missouri River during the Civil War, according to the city’s official website.

KENTUCKY: Harrodsburg, est. 1774

Harrodsburg, which was originally called Harrodstown, was established by James Harrod in 1774.

LOUISIANA: Natchitoches, est. 1714

Natchitoches, founded in 1714 by French explorers, resembles New Orleans’ French quarter, and is sometimes referred to as “little New Orleans,” Fox8 reported.

MAINE: Kittery, est. 1647

English settlers first arrived in Kittery in 1623, and it was incorporated in 1647, per its official website.

MARYLAND: St. Mary’s City, est. 1634

St. Mary’s City was founded in 1634 by English Catholics who were escaping religious persecution. Many consider it the birthplace of religious freedom in the US, The Washington Post reported in 2008.

MASSACHUSETTS: Plymouth, est. 1620

Plymouth is referred to as “America’s hometown” for its famed Plymouth Rock, where the Mayflower landed in 1620 (though Jamestown, Virginia, also begets the title as the oldest settlement).

MICHIGAN: Sault Ste. Marie, est. 1668

Sault Ste. Marie was founded by French missionaries and fur traders in 1668.

MINNESOTA: Wabasha, est. 1830

Wabasha was established in 1830, though it has been continuously occupied since 1826.

Some believe Stillwater, Minnesota, is the state’s oldest town because it was incorporated in 1854, while Wabasha wasn’t incorporated until 1858. But according to the year of first settlement, the Second Treaty of Prairie du Chien drafted in 1830 establishes that Wabasha preceded it.

MISSISSIPPI: Natchez, est. 1716

Natchez was founded in 1716, by French colonists. It was the state’s most active slave trading city, per the state’s history website.

MISSOURI: Ste. Genevieve, est. ~1735

The exact year that Ste. Genevieve was founded is unclear, but French-Canadian settlers could have established it as early as 1735, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

MONTANA: Stevensville, est. 1841

Stevensville was officially founded in 1841, when Father Pierre Jean De Smet rolled in with three carts, building St. Mary’s Mission, the Northwest’s first church and school. The town is celebrated during Western Heritage Days as the oldest town in Montana.

NEBRASKA: Bellevue, est. 1822

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Bellevue is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Nebraska. It was first established as a trading post in 1822, and moved to its current location in 1835.

NEVADA: Genoa, est. 1851

Genoa is a tiny town — according to its website, just 250 people live there. It was settled in 1851, as a trading post by a group of Mormon traders from Salt Lake City.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Dover, est. 1623

Dover’s website states that it’s the oldest continuous settlement in New Hampshire and the seventh oldest in the entire US. It was originally settled in 1623 by fishermen and traders.

NEW JERSEY: Jersey City, est. 1660

Jersey City was first settled by the Dutch in 1660, and it was officially incorporated as Jersey City in 1820.

NEW MEXICO: Santa Fe, est. 1607-1610

According to Santa Fe’s official website, it’s not only the oldest capital city in the US, but also the second oldest city in the whole country. Santa Fe, which means “holy faith” in Spanish, was founded between 1607 and 1610.

NEW YORK: Albany, est. 1624

The capital of New York is also its oldest city. Originally founded as Fort Orange by Dutch settlers in 1624, the city was officially chartered by the British government as Albany in 1686.

Even though Fort Orange wasn’t founded until the 1620s, Henry Hudson (of Hudson River fame), arrived in the area in 1609 and found it populated with Iroquois Native Americans, according to Albany’s website.

NORTH CAROLINA: Bath, est. 1705

Bath had its 300th anniversary in 2005, celebrating the town’s founding in 1705. Bath was also North Carolina’s first port, and was almost named the state’s capital. However, after the town was passed up, it slowly shrank, and now has just 241 residents, per the most recent US Census data.

NORTH DAKOTA: Pembina, est. 1797

The city of Pembina’s official motto is: “Oldest Settlement in the Dakota Territories.” While it was inhabited before this, Pembina’s website reports that its first official date in history was 1797, when the first trading post was established.

OHIO: Marietta, est. 1788

Marietta holds the distinction of being the first city in the Northwest Territory — its website says it was officially founded in 1788, after a ship called the Adventure Galley sailed up the Ohio River and landed there.

OKLAHOMA: Fort Gibson, est. 1824

The sign that welcomes visitors into Fort Gibson proclaims it “the Oldest Town in Oklahoma.”

Fort Gibson was founded in 1824 as a result of the rising tensions between the Cherokee and Osage Nations — the US felt they had to move their outpost further out west.

OREGON: Astoria, est. 1811

Per the town’s history, Astoria is the oldest American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains, due to its founding in 1811 by John Jacob Astor, the nation’s first millionaire. Sixty five years later, in 1876, the town was officially incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly.

PENNSYLVANIA: Chester, est. 1644

Chester, located south of Philadelphia, was founded in 1644 under the name “Upland” by Swiss settlers, according to the City of Chester website. In 1681, William Penn acquired the settlement and shortly renamed it Chester.

RHODE ISLAND: Providence, est. 1636

Providence was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a preacher fleeing Massachusetts due to religious persecution. He purchased land and created his own city with the promise of religious freedom.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Charleston, est. 1670

The city of Charleston was founded in 1670 by English colonists. Charleston’s main historical claim to fame is that it’s the site of the first official shot fired in the Civil War, at Fort Sumter.

SOUTH DAKOTA: Fort Pierre, est. 1743

Fort Pierre’s website claims that it’s the oldest continuously occupied white settlement in South Dakota. According to the National Park Service, it is home to a plate buried by French explorers named Verendrye in 1743, who were among the first white men to explore what would later become South Dakota.

TENNESSEE: Jonesborough, est. 1779

Jonesborough is known colloquially as “Tennessee’s Oldest Town.” It was founded in 1779 as a frontier town, 17 years before Tennessee was a state.

TEXAS: Nacogdoches, est. 1779

Nacogdoches was founded by Don Antonio Gil Y’Barbo in 1779. According to the city’s website, nine flags have flown over the town: Spanish, French, Mexican, Lone Star, Confederate and US, as well as one from the Gutierrez-Magee Rebellion, one from the Dr. James Long Expedition, and one from the Fredonia Rebellion. The rest of Texas has “only” seen six flags.

UTAH: Ogden, est. 1851

Ogden is the oldest continuously settled community in Utah, and was originally called Fort Buenaventura. Mormon settlers bought the fort in 1847, and it was officially incorporated in 1851.

VERMONT: Westminster, est. 1734

The small town of Westminster was founded in 1734, according to the Westminster Historical Society, but there wasn’t a permanent settlement until 1751.

VIRGINIA: Dumfries, est. 1749

Chartered as a town in 1749, Dumfries is the oldest chartered town in Virginia, according to the Town of Dumfries’ website.

While Jamestown became the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607, according to the National Park Service, most of the early settlers died from starvation, disease, and war with the Powhatan Indian tribe living there. Today, it’s a historic site, but no longer a town. 

WASHINGTON: Steilacoom, est. 1854

Steilacoom’s website states that it’s the oldest incorporated town in Washington state — it officially became a town in 1854.

A boat captain from Maine, Captain Lafayette Balch, was reminded of home upon seeing the area on the Puget Sound and founded Steilacoom in January, 1851. He called it “Port Steilacoom.”

However, a few months later John B. Chapman made claim to the west, naming his town “Steilacoom City.” In 1854 the new territorial legislature incorporated “Steilacoom,” combining the two rival towns into one, according to the town’s history.

WEST VIRGINIA: Shepherdstown and Romney, est. 1762

It’s a tie! WV Public Broadcasting reported these two cities were chartered on the same day: December 23, 1762. However, there’s a debate as to which is actually older: Settlers are said to date back as far as 1710.

WISCONSIN: Green Bay, est. 1655

Green Bay is more than just a football team — it’s been around since 1655, when it was first established as a fur-trading post. While various Native American tribes lived in the region, French explorer Jean Nicolet visited the area in 1634 and named it “La Baye Verte,” or The Green Bay.

WYOMING: Cheyenne, est. 1867

Wyoming’s capital city is its oldest city as well. The city of Cheyenne was founded in 1867 after years of being a railroad town (the Union Pacific Railroad passed through on its way west). Cheyenne grew so quickly that it was nicknamed “Magic City of the Plains.”

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