Will the real Nations Oldest City be known

[roadman65]

St. Augustine has been a city since 1565, hence its nickname " The Nations Oldest City."

However San Juan, PR is older than St. Augustine. The only reason why that is mentioned that the city in Florida is the oldest, is because San Juan is not in a state.  Some can argue though not in a US State, San Juan is still on US soil and being under US Sovereignty and Military Protection it still counts as an official US city.

To me I don't really lose sleep over it so to speak and in pop culture no one thinks much of it being called the oldest and even people from Puerto Rico I'm sure don't care about the nickname of the Florida city.

Just a friendly discussion to see if San Juan in your mind really is the nations oldest settlement or not. To me personally they are both the oldest and rich in history that played roles in our country and besides  what's really in a name anyway.  San Juan became famous because of its location in the West Indies for ships to Moore and take an active part in trading to make it it a "Rich Port"  at the time. In fact the name Puerto Rico is Spanish for Rich Port.  St. Augustine not so prominent in trading as it was in awareness of that opening the door for a new colony for the future US, but cause it was another Jamestown and Plymouth gets notability in our historical academic world.

Basically it's all how you look at it and how we perceive it. Both cities are first in different areas, but not one is more important than the other.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Native towns and villages predated either of those, most of which we will never know their names or when they were founded.

[Max Rockatansky]

Some even have extensive ruins like Mesa Verde National Park or Tuzigoot National Monument.  When I ran ghost town website, I included known Native American settlements.  For all intents and purposes they meet the definition of true ghost towns.

[Dirt Roads]

We have our own Fort San Juan in North Carolina (founded in 1567), located at what is now known as Morganton along I-40.  Not nearly as old as San Juan Borinquén (founded 1521), but only a few years younger than St. Augustine (founded 1565). 

Of course, the Spanish Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sent Juan Pardo and his troops off in search of the great stash of gold in the foothills of what's now North Carolina and they marched right past them (not really knowing what to look for) and got stuck at the base of the Blue Ridge in a deep snowstorm, which forced them to settle in for the Winter months.  Sadly, the Spaniards were not welcomed by the Native Americans who destroyed Fort San Juan only a year or so later.  Hardly qualifying as a settlement.

It wasn't until 1799 that a Hessian soldier found a huge gold rock in (now) Cabarrus County (which is further east than the trek that Pardo took up the Wateree and Catawba Rivers).  Setting up the real Gold Rush in the Piedmont of North Carolina.  The official United States gold mint in Charlotte was established in 1831.

[kkt]

It gets into what you mean by "city" which could be an endless rabbithole.

[skluth]

I'll argue that a place like Taos Pueblo, which has been continuously inhabited since at least the 1400s and possibly since about 1000 CE, is the oldest US city.

[michravera]

St. Augustine has been a city since 1565, hence its nickname " The Nations Oldest City."

However San Juan, PR is older than St. Augustine. The only reason why that is mentioned that the city in Florida is the oldest, is because San Juan is not in a state.  Some can argue though not in a US State, San Juan is still on US soil and being under US Sovereignty and Military Protection it still counts as an official US city.

To me I don't really lose sleep over it so to speak and in pop culture no one thinks much of it being called the oldest and even people from Puerto Rico I'm sure don't care about the nickname of the Florida city.

Just a friendly discussion to see if San Juan in your mind really is the nations oldest settlement or not. To me personally they are both the oldest and rich in history that played roles in our country and besides  what's really in a name anyway.  San Juan became famous because of its location in the West Indies for ships to Moore and take an active part in trading to make it it a "Rich Port"  at the time. In fact the name Puerto Rico is Spanish for Rich Port.  St. Augustine not so prominent in trading as it was in awareness of that opening the door for a new colony for the future US, but cause it was another Jamestown and Plymouth gets notability in our historical academic world.

Basically it's all how you look at it and how we perceive it. Both cities are first in different areas, but not one is more important than the other.

The problem with a nation that becomes independent from another and acquires additional territories through various means is that the "nation's oldest" is sort of like that of the "first president" or "youngest president" or, for that matter "longest river" or "shortest river". You can reasonably make a definition that gives reasonable candidates the title:
1) "The oldest city established by Europeans in one of the current United States" Probably St. Augustine
2) "The oldest city established by Europeans within the current United States": Probably San Juan
3) "The oldest city established by Europeans that was a part of the United States": Probably Manila
4) "The oldest settlement with more or less continuous occupation by people of European ancestors within the United States": No idea
5) "The oldest settlement with more or less continuous occupation by people of any description within the United States": No idea
6) "The first city incorporated by law by one of the United States": No idea!
7) "The first city incorporated by law by one of the United States that had ratified the Constitution": ?Dover?
8) "The first city incorporated by law by one of the United States after the Constitution had been ratified by the 9 or more states required to put it into effect amongst the states that had then ratified it": No idea
9) "The first city incorporated by law by one of the United States after the Constitution had been ratified by all 13 original states": No idea
10) "The first city incorporated by law by one of the United States after the admission of all 50 current states": No idea

"The first settlement with continuous occupation that later became a city that was established by Europeans located in any of the 50 current United States" doesn't quite fit that well on the official city letterhead or on the city seal, does it?


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