St. Augustine, Florida, was founded by the Spanish in 1565.
Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés formally established the settlement on September 8, 1565, naming it San Agustín. The location had strategic value because Spain wanted to protect its Florida claim and shipping routes connected to the Caribbean and the Spanish treasure fleets.
St. Augustine is widely recognized as the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the contiguous United States. That distinction refers to continuous occupation and the contiguous mainland, not to every settlement founded anywhere in present-day U.S. territories. San Juan, Puerto Rico, was founded earlier, in 1521.
The settlement developed on the site of a Timucua village called Seloy. Spanish religious activity began soon afterward, including a Mass associated with the landing. St. Augustine’s long history makes it an important part of the broader story of European colonization in North America before the United States was founded.