Source: The Socorro Mission on Mission Trail, TX. Socorro is just east of El Paso on the Rio Grande River. (Jann Huizenga via Getty Images)
Texas loves to argue about what’s oldest — the oldest town, the oldest building, the oldest place where someone once planted a flag and stayed a while. This list takes a cleaner approach. These are the 25 oldest cities and towns in Texas that still exist as independent cities or census-designated places, not ghost towns or absorbed communities.
Just as important, the dates here are based on when a continuous, clearly established settlement began. That’s why cities like El Paso won’t be found here, even though settlements existed there in the 1680s. The city itself didn’t fully take shape until 1849.
History isn’t always tidy, and Texas history especially so. Dates can overlap, records can be fuzzy and a deserving town or two may have slipped through the cracks. Still, these 25 communities represent the clearest through line from Texas’ earliest days to the present.
Honorable Mention: Ysleta
It’s worth mentioning Ysleta, a community in El Paso that traces its roots to 1680, when Spanish conquistadors, Franciscan clerics and Tigua Pueblo fleeing the Pueblo Revolt in present-day New Mexico were resettled by Spanish authorities along the Rio Grande.
Centered on Mission Corpus Christi de la Isleta del Sur, the community became one of Texas’ earliest permanent settlements. Though annexed by El Paso in 1955, Ysleta is often cited as the oldest continuously inhabited community in Texas, predating most towns by decades.
25. Seguin
Founded/Settled: 1838
About: Seguin was established in 1838 along the Guadalupe River and named for Texas revolutionary Juan Seguín. The town became an early agricultural and industrial center, including one of Texas’ first concrete buildings, helping anchor settlement between San Antonio and the coast.
24. Houston
Founded/Settled: 1836
About: Houston was founded in 1836 by brothers Augustus and John Allen after the Texas Revolution, who envisioned a booming commercial city along Buffalo Bayou. From 1837 to 1839, it served as the capital of the Republic of Texas. The town grew rapidly thanks to its access to waterways, railroads and, later, oil. That early emphasis on commerce and expansion fueled Houston’s rise into Texas’ largest city.
23. Austin
Founded/Settled: 1835
About: Austin began in the 1830s as the small riverside settlement of Waterloo along the Colorado River. Its fortunes changed in 1839, when it was chosen as the capital of the Republic of Texas, despite its remote frontier location. That decision anchored Austin as the state’s political center. Over time, government, education and culture shaped its identity, blending frontier roots with a reputation for independence, creativity and steady growth. Prior to its founding, Austin was the site of three Spanish missions combined into one, in 1730.
22. San Augustine
Founded/Settled: 1832
About: San Augustine traces its origins to 1717, when a Spanish mission was established in the area. The mission was abandoned in the 1770s. The area began to be resettled in the late 1820s. It later grew into one of East Texas’ most important early towns, serving as a crossroads for Spanish, Mexican and Anglo settlement deep into the 19th century.
21. Bastrop
Founded/Settled: 1832
About: Bastrop was established in 1832 along the Colorado River and quickly became a gateway between Central Texas and the frontier. The town survived fires and floods while building a reputation as one of Texas’ earliest and most resilient river communities. It is considered the “Most Historic Small Town in Texas,” thanks to 131 of its buildings being admitted to the National Register of Historical Places in 1979.
20. San Patricio
Founded/Settled: 1830
About: San Patricio was founded in 1830 as an Irish-Mexican colony along the Nueces River. The settlement reflected Texas’ diverse early population and played a small but notable role during the Texas Revolution. The Battle of San Patricio was fought near town in 1836.
19. Brazoria
Founded/Settled: 1828
About: Brazoria was established in 1828 near the Brazos River and became an early center of agriculture and coastal trade. Closely tied to Stephen F. Austin’s colony, the town helped anchor early Anglo settlement in Texas during the Mexican and Republic eras.
18. Matagorda
Founded/Settled: 1827
About: Matagorda was founded in 1827 at the mouth of the Colorado River and quickly became a key Gulf Coast port. The town played an important role in early Texas trade and immigration before storms and shifting waterways slowed its growth in the mid-19th century.
17. West Columbia
Founded/Settled: 1826
About: West Columbia traces its beginnings to Columbia, an early Brazos River settlement founded in the late 1820s. It briefly served as the capital of the Republic of Texas between 1836 and 1837. Today, West Columbia preserves that early Republic-era legacy.
16. Gonzales
Founded/Settled: 1825
About: Gonzales was founded in 1825 as part of the DeWitt Colony and is best known as the birthplace of the Texas Revolution, with the Battle of Gonzales in 1835. The town’s famous “Come and Take It” cannon marked the first shots in the fight for Texas independence.
15. Victoria
Founded/Settled: 1824
About: Victoria was established in 1824 by Martín De León, making it one of the earliest Mexican-founded towns in Texas. Located on the Guadalupe River, it became a cultural crossroads of Mexican and Anglo settlement.
14. San Felipe
Founded/Settled: 1824
About: San Felipe de Austin was founded in 1824 as the capital of Stephen F. Austin’s colony. For a time, it was the most important town in Anglo Texas. Though later abandoned and burned in 1836 to prevent capture by the Mexican army, San Felipe’s influence looms large in Texas’ early political history. It’s home to the oldest post office in Texas (ZIP code 77473).
13. East Columbia
Founded/Settled: 1824
About: East Columbia dates back to the mid 1820s, developing as an early settlement near the Brazos River. Closely tied to nearby Columbia (now West Columbia), it played a supporting role in the region’s early trade and agriculture during the Mexican and Republic of Texas periods.
12. La Grange
Founded/Settled: 1822
About: First settled by Stephen F. Austin’s colonists in 1822, La Grange was officially founded in 1828 and quickly became the seat of Fayette County. Positioned near the Colorado River, the town grew as settlers moved inland from the coast. Its early courthouse history and immigrant influence helped shape Central Texas development.
11. Columbus
Founded/Settled: 1821
About: Columbus was established in the early 1820s along the Colorado River as a key crossing and supply point. The town grew with early Anglo settlement and river trade, becoming a quiet but important stop in Texas’ frontier expansion through the 19th century.
10. Galveston
Founded/Settled: 1816
About: Beginning as a French pirate settlement during the 1810s and 1820s, Galveston developed in the 1830s as a booming Gulf port and quickly became Texas’ largest city before the Civil War. Its wealth, culture and architecture shaped the state’s early economy. Though hurricanes changed its trajectory, Galveston remains one of Texas’ most important and historic cities.
9. Refugio
Founded/Settled: 1793
About: Refugio grew out of Mission Nuestra Señora del Refugio, founded in 1793. It was the last mission founded in Texas. The settlement endured repeated relocations, floods and political change before stabilizing inland. Its mission roots still define the town’s place in early Texas history.
8. San Elizario
Founded/Settled: 1789
About: San Elizario emerged in 1789 as a Spanish presidio and border settlement near the Rio Grande. Long before modern borders were set, it served as a political and military hub in far West Texas. Its origins date as far back as 1598, although the present-day site’s first settlement was established prior to 1760, later being abandoned in the 1770s.
7. Port Isabel
Founded/Settled: Late 1770s
About: Port Isabel traces its roots back to the 1770s as a fishing village and late 18th and early 19th century summer resort. The port played a key role during the Mexican-American War and later thrived on fishing and maritime trade. Today, it remains one of Texas’ oldest active coastal communities.
6. Laredo
Founded/Settled: 1755
About: Laredo was founded in 1755 by Tomás Sánchez under orders from José de Escandón as part of Spain’s colonization of the lower Rio Grande Valley. Unlike most Texas cities, Laredo remained firmly tied to Mexican political and cultural life well into the 19th century. After the Mexican-American War, Laredo became part of the United States in 1848.
5. Goliad
Founded/Settled: 1749
About: Goliad originated as La Bahía, a Spanish mission and presidio relocated to its current site in 1749. It became a critical defense point protecting Spanish Texas from French encroachment. During the Texas Revolution, Goliad gained tragic notoriety with the Goliad Massacre in 1836, when captured Texian forces were executed by Mexican troops. Despite its small size today, Goliad remains one of the most historically significant towns in Texas.
4. San Antonio
Founded/Settled: 1718
About: San Antonio began as a Spanish mission and presidio along the San Antonio River. Mission San Antonio de Valero — later known as the Alamo — became the settlement’s most famous landmark. The town evolved into the political, military and cultural heart of Spanish Texas and later Mexican Texas. During the Texas Revolution, San Antonio was a key battleground. It went on to become one of Texas’ largest cities and a lasting symbol of the state’s Spanish colonial heritage.
3. Nacogdoches
Founded/Settled: 1716, 1779
About: Nacogdoches is widely recognized as the oldest town in East Texas, founded in 1716 around a Spanish mission in a Caddo village. The settlement survived Spanish, Mexican and Republic eras, earning its nickname, “The Oldest Town in Texas,” through centuries of continuous occupation. The present-day city was resettled in 1779.
2. Presidio
Founded/Settled: 1683
About: Presidio developed at the strategic La Junta de los Ríos region, where the Rio Grande and Rio Conchos meet. Spanish explorers reached the area in the late 1600s, and a permanent settlement emerged by 1683, anchored by missions. Its remote location made it a vital crossroads for trade, military movement and Native American relations. Presidio has long served as a border town linking Texas with northern Mexico.
1. Socorro, Texas
Founded/Settled: 1680
About: Socorro traces its roots to 1680, when Native Americans settled there after fleeing the Pueblo Revolt of present-day New Mexico. Established along the Rio Grande near modern El Paso, Socorro grew around Mission Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción del Socorro, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in Texas. The town remained a small agricultural and religious settlement through Spanish and Mexican rule before becoming part of the United States after 1848.
