St. Augustine, Florida, was founded by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in 1565.
Menéndez established the Spanish settlement on September 8, 1565, naming it San Agustín because the fleet had sighted the Florida coast on the feast day of Saint Augustine. The settlement became a permanent Spanish base in North America.
St. Augustine is widely recognized as the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement within the contiguous United States. It predates Jamestown, founded in 1607, and Plymouth, founded in 1620.
The city’s history reflects centuries of Spanish, British, and American rule. Spain controlled Florida for most of the colonial period, although Britain held the city from 1763 to 1783. The United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821.