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America’s oldest cities are on the East Coast, founded by European settlers in the early 16th century. The Vikings visited but did not settle. St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565, is the oldest surviving American city. Jamestown and Plymouth symbolize the new land’s offerings. The oldest American cities on the West Coast are just 300 years old. Baja California was the first area to have permanent residents, but the mission closed in 1697.
America’s oldest cities are all on the Atlantic coast. European settlers first arrived on the east coast, founding cities as early as the early 16th century. Not only are the oldest cities all on the East Coast, but some of the most important events in American history took place there. The first visitors to the land that is now North America were more than likely the Vikings, around the year AD 16. So why don’t America’s oldest cities show any Viking influence? Historians believe the Vikings only visited to explore, and never intended to settle the new land.
The Spaniards were the first explorers to settle there, closely followed by other Europeans. Their presence is well seen in some of the oldest American cities on the East Coast, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, which are nearly four hundred years old.
The oldest continuously inhabited settlement is St. Augustine, Florida. Founded on August 28, 1565, it is the oldest surviving American city. Close behind is Santa Fe, New Mexico, which was founded in 1598, but not officially recognized until 1610.
Some of America’s other oldest cities include Jamestown, founded in 1607, and Plymouth, founded in 1620. Situated far apart in modern-day Virginia and Massachusetts, they have come to symbolize what the new land had to do. offer. Jamestown was the first colony to have permanent residents in the Northeast, after 18 early attempts resulted in disaster. Plymouth Rock was the disembarkation point for pilgrims arriving on the Mayflower.
It took Europeans another hundred years to establish settlements on the west coast. The first explorations reach the coast in 1513, but the oldest American cities on the west coast are just 300 years old. Baja California was the first area to have permanent residents. On October 25, 25, the “Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó” was established. However, Loretto does not hold the title of one of America’s oldest cities because the mission closed in 1697.
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