What Were the Original 13 Colonies in Order? Full 1776 Guide

The 13 original colonies in order of founding were Virginia (1607), Massachusetts (1620), New Hampshire (1623), Maryland (1634), Connecticut (1636), Rhode Island (1636), Delaware (1638), North Carolina (1653), South Carolina (1663), New Jersey (1664), New York (1664), Pennsylvania (1681), and Georgia (1732). This is the chronological answer to the question of what were the original 13 colonies in order — the sequence in which permanent European settlements were established along the Atlantic coast. A second common ordering groups them geographically into New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. The two systems are related, but the dates come first for most students because they show how the colonies grew from a single settlement at Jamestown into a chain of 13.

The 13 Colonies in Order

Below is the founding order, with the year each colony began as a permanent settlement and the person or group most associated with it. Dates refer to the first lasting settlement, not the year a royal charter was granted.

A note on Delaware: Swedish settlers built Fort Christina in 1638, but the area later passed to the Dutch and then the English before becoming a separate colony. The National Archives holds charters and records tied to several of these grants, which is one reason founding dates sometimes differ between sources. Colonial records at the Library of Congress likewise show overlapping land claims that complicate any single timeline.

Why the Order Matters

Ordering the colonies chronologically reveals three broad phases of settlement. The first phase (1607–1638) saw scattered footholds, each founded by a different company or religious group. The second phase (1653–1664) filled in the coastal gap and took New Netherland from the Dutch. The third phase (1681–1732) added the last two colonies, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

Ordering them geographically tells a different story. All 13 sat between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian Mountains, but their climates, soil, and economies differed sharply. Historians usually group them into three regions, and that grouping is what most textbooks mean when they sort the colonies. You can see this three-region pattern reflected in how the Smithsonian Institution presents colonial life.

Chronological vs. geographic ordering

Chronological order answers “when.” Geographic order answers “where” and “what kind of economy.” A colony like New York, founded in 1664, belongs to the Middle Colonies geographically even though it appears late in the founding sequence. Knowing both helps you avoid mixing up date and region.

New England Colonies

The New England Colonies were Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. All four shared rocky soil, cold winters, and a short growing season, which pushed settlers toward fishing, shipbuilding, and trade rather than large farms.

• Massachusetts (1620) — Founded by Pilgrims at Plymouth, then expanded by Puritans under John Winthrop.
• New Hampshire (1623) — Settled by John Mason and Ferdinando Gorges; later a royal province.
• Rhode Island (1636) — Founded by Roger Williams as a haven for religious freedom.
• Connecticut (1636) — Founded by Thomas Hooker and others seeking more representative government.

Religion shaped daily life here more than in any other region. Town meetings, public schools, and a strong merchant class became defining features. A useful example: a New England farmer with thin, stony soil might earn more from shipping than from crops — the opposite of a Virginia planter.

Middle and Southern Colonies

The Middle Colonies were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Their land was more fertile than New England’s, and their populations were more diverse. Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn in 1681, drew English, German, and Dutch settlers.

The Southern Colonies were Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Warm weather and rich soil made cash crops like tobacco, rice, and indigo profitable.

• Maryland (1634) — Founded by Cecil Calvert as a haven for English Catholics.
• Virginia (1607) — The first permanent English settlement, anchored at Jamestown.
• North Carolina (1653) — First settled by Virginians moving south.
• South Carolina (1663) — Established by the Lords Proprietors, with Charleston as its main port.
• Georgia (1732) — Founded by James Oglethorpe, partly as a buffer against Spanish Florida.

One difference stands out: the Middle Colonies mixed farming with commerce and tolerated many faiths, while the Southern Colonies relied on plantation agriculture and, by the 1700s, enslaved labor on a large scale. Georgia was the last colony founded, and it was the only one whose charter initially banned slavery — a rule later overturned.

Key Takeaways

• The 13 colonies in founding order: Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia.
• Virginia (1607) was first; Georgia (1732) was last.
• The colonies are usually grouped into New England (4), Middle (4), and Southern (5).
• Founding dates often mark the first permanent settlement, not the first charter.
• Geography shaped each region’s economy: trade in the north, mixed farming in the middle, cash crops in the south.