About St. Augustine, FL - Oldest City In America
Both America's oldest city and oldest non-Indigenous settlement
St. Augustine, located in northeastern Florida, is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the continental United States. Before European contact, the area was inhabited by the Timucua people.
On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and 800 Spanish settlers founded the city of St. Augustine in Spanish La Florida and named it after Saint Augustine of Hippo. The city was established 42 years before the English colonized Jamestown (1607) and 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock (1620).
The settlement was established as a strategic military outpost to protect Spanish interests in the New World. St. Augustine served as the capital of Spanish Florida and faced numerous attacks and conflicts, including skirmishes with the British and Native American tribes.
The city was captured by the British in 1763 but returned to Spain in 1783 after the American Revolutionary War. The site of the first Catholic Mass in North America was celebrated in St. Augustine, Florida on September 8, 1565, led by Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales when Spanish Admiral Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles established the city.
On that same date, September 8th, 1565, the first Thanksgiving, America's oldest holiday, took place. The celebrant of the Mass was St. Augustine’s first pastor, Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, and the feast day in the church calendar was that of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In 1821, the United States acquired Florida from Spain, and St. Augustine became part of the new territory. The city played a role in the history of the Civil War, with Union forces capturing it in 1862.
St. Augustine ranks number one as the city with the most historical homes – 11,231 registered homes per capita, to be exact. A massive 22% of all homes in St. Augustine are historical.
Some notable landmarks in St. Augustine to visit are the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest wooden schoolhouse, the Flagler College (former Hotel Ponce de Leon), America's oldest town square Plaza de la Constitución, the Cathedral Basilica and Fort Mose Historic State Park.
Today, St. Augustine is known for its historic architecture, Spanish colonial heritage, and as a vibrant tourist destination, attracting visitors to its historic sites, museums, ghost tours and beaches. St. Augustine also offers ghastly host tours and cultural festivals.
