St. Augustine is a city in St. Johns County, Florida, on the state's northeast coast between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach. It holds a singular place in American history: founded in 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States. The city's population is roughly 16,000, though it anchors a much larger county of more than 300,000 people that has become one of Florida's most desirable residential areas. The historic core is the city's defining feature. The St. Augustine Town Plan Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, preserves one of the earliest examples of a planned European community, with streets laid out in the Spanish colonial pattern of the 16th century. Within it stand the Castillo de San Marcos, the masonry fort begun in 1672 and the oldest of its kind in the country; the Plaza de la Constitución; and Flagler College, housed in the former Ponce de León Hotel built by railroad and hotel magnate Henry Flagler in the 1880s. Pedestrian streets, historic inns, and centuries-old coquina buildings draw millions of visitors each year. Across the Matanzas River and the Intracoastal Waterway, the city's recreational side unfolds. Anastasia State Park protects 1,600 acres of barrier-island habitat and four miles of white quartz-sand beach, while the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum rises over the island. To the north, Vilano Beach and the quieter stretches of the Historic Coast offer surf fishing, boating, and beach living. Modern St. Augustine is both a tourism destination and a fast-growing residential community. St. Johns County Schools serve the area and are consistently ranked among Florida's best, drawing families to neighborhoods from the historic Lincolnville and Davis Shores districts to the beach communities of Anastasia Island and the newer subdivisions along the county's growth corridors. The result is a city that pairs unmatched history with a coastal, family-oriented lifestyle.