What Is The Oldest City In Each US State?

▶ In this video, I explore the oldest cities in each U.S. state, providing historical information about their establishment, founders, and significant events. The journey begins with Saint Augustine in Florida, settled by the Spanish in 1565, and continues chronologically through each state. I cover a range of historical backgrounds, from Spanish colonization in places like Santa Fe, New Mexico, and San Diego, California, to the establishment of Plymouth, Massachusetts, by the Pilgrims in 1620. I emphasize the diversity of origins, including Dutch, French, and English settlers, as well as interactions with Native American tribes. The exploration concludes with Cheyenne, Wyoming, founded in 1867 with the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad. I acknowledge the varying sizes and modern relevance of these cities, inviting viewers to share their experiences or correct any information presented.

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
01:40 Florida (St. Augustine)
02:32 New Mexico (Santa Fe)
03:08 Massachusetts (Plymouth)
03:40 Maine (Kittery)
05:13 New Hampshire (Dover)
05:41 New York (Albany)
06:12 Delaware (Lewes)
06:46 Virginia (Williamsburg)
07:10 Connecticut (Windsor)
07:27 Wisconsin (Green Bay)
07:46 Rhode Island (Providence)
08:10 Michigan (Sault Ste. Marie)
08:49 Maryland (Annapolis)
09:12 New Jersey (Jersey City)
09:36 South Carolina (Charleston)
09:53 Illinois (Peoria)
10:08 Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
10:22 Alabama (Mobile)
10:41 North Carolina (Bath)
11:00 Louisiana (Natchitoches)
11:15 Mississippi (Natchez)
11:34 Indiana (Vinecennes)
12:07 Georgia (Savannah)
12:32 Vermont (Westminster)
12:45 Missouri (Saint Genevieve)
12:58 South Dakota (Fort Pierre)
13:13 West Virginia (Shepherdstown)
13:36 California (San Diego)
13:57 Kentucky (Harrodsburg)
14:14 Arizona (Tucson)
14:35 Tennessee (Jonesborough)
14:58 Texas (Nacogdoches)
15:38 Ohio (Marietta)
16:00 Arkansas (Georgetown)
16:23 Alaska (Kodiak)
16:41 North Dakota (Pembina)
17:04 Oregon (Astoria)
17:28 Hawaii (Hilo)
17:47 Nebraska (Bellevue)
18:06 Oklahoma (Fort Gibson)
18:30 Minnesota (Wabasha)
18:44 Kansas (Leavensworth)
18:56 Iowa (Dubuque)
19:15 Montana (Stetensville)
19:34 Colorado (San Luis)
19:45 Nevada (Genoa)
20:15 Utah (Ogden)
20:35 Washington (Steilacoom)
21:09 Idaho (Franklin)
21:22 Wyoming (Cheyenne)
21:50 Summary

▶ A special thank you to my Patrons: Señor Valasco, Yasin Chaykh, Stuart Tunstead, Chaim laser, Robinhio84, Rogaine Ablar, The Wanton Dogfish, Yeti, Elizabeth Per, Juan Rodriguez Forero, Lastmatix, Kalvin Saccal, Ahmed Alkooheji, Steve the Goat, KR, Ryan Keith, Ryan McMurry, Richard Hartzell.

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[General.Knowledge]

*I myself am a little skeptical about some of the ones on this list, but according to its makers it's correct! Do you notice any mistakes / have any corrections? Let me know!*

[tothemax]

It's a slight thing but something I want to point out. Mobile, Alabama isn't pronounced mobile, as movement. But it is pronounced "Mo-beel"

[jontoddkoenig]

Presidio, Texas was founded in 1535, and still exists today, which is 181 years before Nacogdoches was founded.

[BrianLenahan]

On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and 800 Spanish settlers founded the city of St. Augustine in Spanish La Florida. As soon as they were ashore, the landing party celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving.

[SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Not a European settlement, but in NM the Acoma Pueblo located nearly 100 km west of Albuquerque is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the US as the Acoma built the Acoma Pueblo around 1144! The Taos Pueblo also in NM was built around 1450! Both New Mexico's current and original capitol buildings in Santa Fe are unique too! Its original capitol building is the Palace of the Governors which was built in 1610 for the then capital of the Spanish province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. The Palace changed hands as the territory of New Mexico did, seeing the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Spanish return from 1693 to 1694, Mexican independence in 1821, and American territorial status in 1848. It remained the New Mexico seat of government until 1901! NM was granted statehood in 1912. The current capitol building was built in the 1960s and is unique in that it's the only circular capitol building and one of the only ones without a dome!

New Mexico's capitol was designed to resemble the Zia sun symbol on the NM flag when viewed from above. The Zia sun symbol is sacred to the Zia people. It's painted on ceremonial vases, drawn on the ground around campfires, and used to introduce newborns to the Sun. Four is the sacred number of the Zia and can be found repeated in the four points radiating from the circle. According to Zia belief, the number four is embodied in the four points of the compass, the four seasons, the four periods of each day, the four seasons of life (childhood, youth, middle years, and old age), and the four sacred obligations one must develop (a strong body, a clear mind, a pure spirit, and a devotion to the welfare of others).

[isaac_aren]

Acoma Pueblo is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in USA, having been inhabited by the Pueblo since around the 11th or 13th century. That and many other native settlements deserve a mention

[brandongorte]

8:11 Sault Sainte Marie is pronounced as "soo saint marie". One of the nicknames of the city and area is "The Soo", and "Soo Michigan" to differentiate it from "Soo Canada" aka "Soo Ontario". The Michigan city, although smaller, is the older of the two Soos.
6:56 Peoria is pronounced as "pee-or-ee-ah".
12:48 Sainte Genevieve is pronounced as "saint gen-ee-veev".
16:42 Pembina is pronounced as "pem-beye-nah".
18:32 Wabasha is pronounced as "wah-bah-shah". Close though on your pronunciation.
18:57 Dubuque is pronounced as "duh-bweuk"

[davidroddini]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was named by Will Penn but not named *after* him. The name Philadelphia comes from the Greek term for “brotherly love” and commemorates a friendship Penn had formed with a native tribal chief.

[sokonek]

I love how much the Great Lakes made the Midwest accessible for settlements much earlier than even some costal states.

[nathanieledwards]

Omaha was never the state capitol of Nebraska. It was only the territorial capitol

[petertrudelljr]

San Antonio, TX was founded in 1718 as "Villa de Bejar". El Paso, TX was founded in 1659. Nacogdoches is the fifth oldest city in the state.

[RadioFreeHammerhal]

Fun fact! I'm actually FROM Windsor, CT, and there's an interesting local controversy about this. Another nearby town, Wethersfield, also claims to be the first town in the state.

In a nutshell, the argument is that a trading post in Windsor was established in 1663, however, it was not an actual "town" until sometime later, while Wethersfield was a more formal town established thr next year in 1634.

[CortexNewsService]

A quick pronunciation correction for Vincennes, Ind. I grew up a 30 minute drive from it. They don't use the French pronunciation. It's pronounced "Vin-senns" by people in the area. And yes, we mangled the original pronunciation. Same with a nearby county named DuBois but pronounced ""Do-boys"

[teddycardenas]

Arizona's oldest city is Oraibi, founded in 1100 AD, making it probably the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the US, along with Pueblo de Taos, NM.

[douglasgriffin]

Just a heads up that Hampton, Virginia claims to have been founded in 1610 and have been permanently settled since that time. Things seem to stack up here as the town is still very much a going concern. This would put VA #3!

[BoydDurham]

Cheyenne maybe the oldest "city" in Wyoming because we don't really have cities. The oldest settlement in Wyoming is fort Laramie. It was a fur trapping post first long. Long before anything else in Wyoming.

[SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

More specifically, Kittery was named after Alexander Shapleigh's manor of Kittery Court at Kingswear in Devon, England. During the Revolution, the first vessels of the US Navy were constructed on Badger's Island, including the USS Ranger (1777) commanded by John Paul Jones. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the nation's first federal navy yard, was established in 1800 on Fernald's Island. During the time Kittery was founded, it was part of the Province of Maine however during the 1650s, the Province of Maine was actually incorporated into the Massachusetts Bay Colony by force because of a 1652 geographic survey that showed an overlapping patent! Maine was confirmed as part of Massachusetts following the Treaty of Paris.

Because Maine was of course physically separate from the rest of Massachusetts, longstanding disagreements over land speculation and settlements led to forcing an 1807 vote in the Massachusetts Assembly on permitting Maine to secede but the vote failed. Secessionist sentiment in Maine was stoked during the War of 1812 when Massachusetts pro-British merchants opposed the war and refused to defend Maine from British invaders. In 1819, Massachusetts agreed to permit secession. Formal secession from MA and admission of Maine as the 23rd state occurred in March 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise.

[WHix-omyo]

Great video as always. Just a few notes: Mobile (mo'-beel), Alabama was founded around 1701 to 1703 and moved from its original location in a swamp because of a yellow fever epidemic to a locale several miles away in 1711. Biloxi, Mississippi was originally founded in 1699 by the same French pioneers but habitation was not continuous. Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville is accredited with founding Mobile, Biloxi, and New Orleans all before 1720.

[jaketheauroran]

Pensacola was actually the first city in the US, 6 years before St. Augustine. There was a just a hurricane that destroyed the city and it had to be rebuilt

[jrmckim]

I am from Louisiana and live on the border of Texas. I can help with the pronunciation of Natchitoches and Nacogdoches. As many people where I'm from often get these 2 towns confused.
Natchitoches:
Nac-ah-tish
(Tish as in dish)

Nacogdoches:
Nac-ah-doe-sh-is

Hope this helps 😊