St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States.
Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine in 1565, more than four decades before the English established Jamestown. The settlement was named San Agustín because the Spanish sighted Florida on August 28, the feast day of Saint Augustine. Its position helped Spain defend routes through the Atlantic and the Caribbean.
St. Augustine changed hands between Spain, Britain, Spain again, and the United States. The United States acquired Florida from Spain through the Adams–Onís Treaty, which entered into force in 1821. The city then developed within the American republic while retaining extensive Spanish colonial heritage.
Jamestown is often called the first permanent English settlement in what became the United States, while Plymouth is associated with the Pilgrims. Those descriptions are different from St. Augustine’s earlier Spanish foundation and continuous occupation.