Forget Philadelphia and Boston: this city holds the title of the oldest in the U.S.

A small, coastal city in north-east Florida holds a special place in the history books of the United States, having this month celebrated its 460th birthday.

Around 40 miles south of Jacksonville, Florida’s largest city, you’ll find St. Augustine, which was founded by Spanish settlers on September 8, 1565.

This makes St. Augustine the oldest continuously inhabited city of European origin in the U.S.’s 50 states, ahead of other settlements more prominently associated with the nation’s beginnings.

“Forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, the Spanish established at St. Augustine this nation’s first enduring settlement,” says the City of St. Augustine, which this week held ceremonies commemorating its latest anniversary.

Indeed, it is even suggested that the first Thanksgiving feast took place between settlers and Timucua Native Americans at St. Augustine, half a century before English colonists held their 1621 harvest celebration with members of the Wampanoag tribe in today’s Massachusetts.

Who founded St. Augustine?

It was Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, a Spanish naval leader and explorer, who founded St. Augustine, naming it after the patron saint of brewers.

Sent by King Philip II to establish a Spanish colony in the location - at the expense of French settlers - Menéndez chose the name because he first sighted land on August 28, the day of the feast of St. Augustine.

“Imperishable ties that bind Spanish and Americans”

Reflecting St. Augustine’s Spanish origins, Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia were chief among the dignitaries who attended the city’s celebrations when it marked its 450th anniversary in September 2015.

During their visit, Felipe and Letizia toured St. Augustine’s iconic Castillo de San Marcos - a well-preserved fortress that was built by the Spanish in the 17th century. In today’s St. Augustine, the Castillo remains the city’s most prominent landmark.

“It is a true symbol of the imperishable ties that bind Spanish and Americans together,’’ Felipe said of the monument, per NBC6 South Florida.

A historic seaside vacation spot

Thanks in no small part to its rich history, St. Augustine has established itself as a popular tourist destination, welcoming around two million visitors each year, according to its municipal government.

In addition to the Castillo, and other architectural remnants of the city’s colonial past in its historic downtown, St. Augustine boasts attractions such as its black-and-white-striped 19th-century lighthouse. A further draw is Fort Matanzas, an 18th-century outpost fort built on the site of former Native American hunting grounds.

With miles of pristine, white sandy beaches, the city - whose population is estimated at about 15,000 - is also a favorite among seaside vacationers.

The oldest cities in the U.S. - ranked:

St. Augustine leads the ranking of the U.S.’s oldest European-founded, continuously occupied cities ahead of not only Plymouth and Jamestown, but major modern-day metropolises such as New York and Boston.

• 1. St. Augustine, FL: founded in 1565
• 2. Jamestown, VA: founded in 1607
• 3. Santa Fe, NM: founded in 1610
• 4. Hampton, VA: founded in 1610
• 5. Albany, NY: founded in 1614
• 6. Plymouth, MA: founded in 1620
• 7. Gloucester, MA: founded in 1623
• 8. New York, NY: founded in 1624
• 9. Jersey City, NJ: founded in 1630
• 10. Boston, MA: founded in 1630

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