History of Pichilemu

Pichilemu's Agustín Ross Casino, in 1935. Agustín Ross also constructed a hotel, a balcony and a park.

The history of Pichilemu began around the 16th century, when Promaucaes inhabited the modern Pichilemu region. According to Chilean historiographer José Toribio Medina on his book Los Restos Indígenas de Pichilemu (1908), Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia gave Topocalma encomienda, in which Pichilemu was supposed to be, to Juan Gómez de Almagro, on January 24, 1544.[1]

The name Pichilemu comes from the Mapudungún words pichi, little, and lemu, forest.[2] Petrel, also known as San Antonio de Petrel, was a hacienda located 18 kilometers east of Pichilemu,[3] is known for being the birthplace of José María Caro Rodríguez.[4] The Ortúzar Cuevas family, that owned Petrel hacienda,[5] constructed a dock in 1887[6] that was burnt amidst the 1891 Chilean Civil War.[7] It was later reconstructed, but finally destroyed in 1911.[7] They constructed additionally the first neighborhood in the currently named Daniel Ortúzar Avenue.[8] The city of Pichilemu was officially established on December 22, 1891, by decree of President Jorge Montt and his Interior Minister, Manuel José Irarrázabal.[9]

Agustín Ross, a Chilean writer and politician, constructed the Agustín Ross Hotel, a casino, now Agustín Ross Cultural Centre, the Agustín Ross Balcony and the Agustín Ross Park, in addition to several perrons.[10] A 119 kilometres (74 mi) railway section between San Fernando and Pichilemu section over a period of 57 years between 1869 and 1926.[11] The Pichilemu railway station was inaugurated that year.[12]

Cardenal Caro Province was created by decree of President Augusto Pinochet on September 24, 1979, named in memoriam and in homage to the first Cardinal of the Chilean Catholic Church, José María Caro Rodríguez.[5] Pichilemu is the capital of the province.

  1. ^ Medina, José Toribio (1908). Los restos indígenas de Pichilemu (in Spanish). Imprenta Cervantes. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  2. ^ Astaburuaga Cienfuegos, Francisco, ed. (1899). "Pichilemo" . Diccionario Geográfico de la República de Chile (Geographic Dictionary of the Republic of Chile) (in Spanish).
  3. ^ Astaburuaga Cienfuegos, Francisco, ed. (1899). "Petrel" . Diccionario Geográfico de la República de Chile (Geographic Dictionary of the Republic of Chile) (in Spanish).
  4. ^ Carmen del Río Pereira Blanca Tagle Arduengo (2009). Región de O'Higgins: Breve relación del patrimonio natural y cultural (in Spanish). Pro-O'Higgins.
  5. ^ a b "Pichilemu y su historia..." Pichilemu.cl. Archived from the original on 13 January 2006. Retrieved 22 July 2010. (in Internet Archive) (in Spanish)
  6. ^ Astaburuaga Cienfuegos, Francisco, ed. (1899). "Pichilemo (Puerto de)" . Diccionario Geográfico de la República de Chile (Geographic Dictionary of the Republic of Chile) (in Spanish).
  7. ^ a b "Historia del Ramal San Fernando a Pichilemu". circulourbano.cl. Retrieved 22 July 2010.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Reseña Histórica de Pichilemu" (in Spanish). DePichilemu. Archived from the original on 2013-09-07. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Primer alcalde was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Don Agustín Ross Edwards, el visionario - El Rancahuaso - Nuestro diario vivir". elrancahuaso.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  11. ^ Antonio Saldías González (1990). Pichilemu: Mis fuentes de información (in Spanish). El Promoucae. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  12. ^ "1926: El día que llegó el tren" (in Spanish). El Mercurio. 1987. Retrieved 22 July 2010.