<P> Founded in 1565 by the Spanish conquistador , Pedro Menéndez de Avilés , St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the contiguous United States . In 1562 , a group of Huguenots led by Jean Ribault arrived in Spanish Florida to establish a colony in the territory claimed by Spain . They explored the mouth of the St. Johns River , calling it la Rivière de Mai ( the River May ) , then sailed northward and established a settlement called Charlesfort at Port Royal Sound in present - day South Carolina . Spain learned of this French expedition through its spies at ports on the Atlantic coast of France . The Huguenot nobleman René de Laudonnière , who had participated in the expedition , returned to Florida in 1564 with three ships and 300 Huguenot colonists . He arrived at the mouth of the River May on June 22 , 1564 , sailed up it a few miles , and founded Fort Caroline . </P>
which european country built the first permanent settlement in what is now the united states
Spain