Villa de San Antonio del Camino was the original name of the City of Merlo. It was founded by Francisco de Merlo y Barbosa. He was born in Sevilla, Spain, in 1693 and died in Buenos Aires, in 1758. He served as a notary public in the Cabildo (town hall) of Buenos Aires and he started acquiring lands in the western countryside in the area called at that time Pago de las Conchas. It was surrounded by the rivers De las Conchas (now Reconquista) and Luxan (now Luján).
By 1727 Merlo had bought a large number of ranches, and his estate extended along the cities now known as Merlo, Libertad, Pontevedra, San Antonio de Padua, Mariano Acosta, Ituzaingó, Castelar, Villa Ariza, Villa General Zapiola, Moreno, Rafael Castilo, Isidro Casanova, González Catán, important sections of Morón and an ample portion of Partido de la Matanza.
According to the Spanish laws, the lands belonged to Francisco de Merlo, however, the territory was inhabited by indigenous tribes called Querandíes and Araucanos, whose recurrent raids led Merlo to build a small hamlet around his ranch as a refuge for many families. Don Francisco also erected a private chapel in the place, near the “Royal Road”, a road that linked Buenos Aires with Lima, the capital of the Viceroyalty of Perú. The chapel was consecrated to Nuestra Señora del Camino and to San Antonio de Padua. In 1742 fifteen families resided in the village.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Merlo wrote a letter to the King Felipe V of Spain in order to request permission for the legal foundation of the town. On August 7th, 1755 the authorization to found the town was conceded. Twenty days later -August 28th- the prosperous village received the name of Villa de San Antonio del Camino. Don Francisco de Merlo y Barbosa died on April 4th, 1778. His vaste estate was divided among his descendants (twelve children) and the Mercedarian Order.
In 1859, the architect Pedro Benoit was assigned to rebuild the church and to draw the map of the town including the thirteen squares that belonged to the church and eighty seven squares else donated by Manuela Calderón, widow of Pearson, and by her son Juan Dillon, who were the landowners of the lands in those days. Dillon was Jhon Dillon´s son, first husband of
Manuela. Juan Dillon is considered as the second founder of the village, he encouraged its development and he was its first mayor. In Dillon´s days the town started to be called Merlo. Benoit traced the basic structure of the city, which is known nowadays as the City of Merlo, and that once was named Villa de San Antonio del Camino.
- Rotary Club, San Antonio de Padua´s site, 2005. www.paduaweb.com.ar/historia
- Schreiber, César, “Contribución al Conocimiento de la Naturaleza y el Hombre de la Región-Moreno- Provincia de Buenos Aires”, 1995. www.moreno.gov.ar/partidodemoreno/historiademoreno4aspx
- Portal Oficial de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2009. www.gob.gba.gov.ar/cdi/
12 comments:
Hi Susan! The article describes the genesis of foundations of our cities. It's by far interesting and educative. So, Manuela Calderon, the woman who donated the 7 squares, was the widow of Pearson, whose name refers actually to the street that changes to Constitucion street. One question: Is the chapel of the photograph that church of 25 de Mayo boulevard or the church of San Antonio de Padua? Well, congratulatioms once again. bye.
Hello Susana,
I consider that your article is very interesting because most of the students in Almafuerte live in Merlo. I suppose that everyone would like to know about the history of this town. So I think that it is a good idea to write about our own history in order to be connected with our roots.
Susana, I really liked your topic. I found it very interesting. And, as Martin said, it is good for us that live in Merlo to know a bit more about the place we live in. as regards your presentation in the class, I found it interesting, too. The pictures you showed, all the information you collected. You did a great job!
Congrats!!
Well, Susana I've really enjoyed your presentation! I didn't know about this information about Merlo and as I told you before, when I was at primary school, we had to search for information of it and make activities, but there are some things that you've mentioned that I didn't know. I think that it was an interesting topic. Congratulations!!
Hi Susan!! Congratulations!!! I think many of us take for granted the fact that we live in Merlo but, in fact, we do not know much about our city. You mentioned sth interesting, "the territory was inhabited by indigenous tribes called Querandíes and Araucanos, whose recurrent raids led Merlo to build a small hamlet around his ranch as a refuge for many families ". So... this means that this city was inhabited by people before the arrival of Merlo. And perhaps, the indigenous were constantly attacking him just because they were defending their territory. It is a pity I was not there the day you delivered the presentation Susan!!!!!
Although Merlo is not the city where I live,the information given in your class Susan was so interesting!!!I really enjoyed to know all the topics mentioned..Congrats Susan!!!
Good Point Yani! There is a lot of information about Don Fransisco and, definitely, one needs to know more about those tribes of Querandíes and Araucanos to draw to conclusions. As Yani said, this aboreegines had been living in this territory and were claiming for their lands. So, What was their destiny? What happened to them? Because according to the article they were invading the territories of Don Francisco, supported by the realm of Spain.
I can't believe that I missed your class presentation! I am very interested on how our city was developed throughout the years. It is a pity that this kind of topic related to our own living place is not taught in school, at least when I was a student of primary school it was not considered, because it is very interesting, as all of you said, to know our roots.
Hey, nobody answered Nestor's question. That church is the one placed on 25 de Mayo. The church of San Antonio de Padua is bigger than this one.
Thank you very much,Nestor, Martin, Dani, Vane, Yani, Fla and Robert. As Robert has said, the picture above shows The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Merced, located on 25 de Mayo.In 1742 it was called Nuestra Señora del Camino
I wasn't present that day and I regret it! Anyway, I found really interesting the information on the blog. I didn't know anything about the history of my beloved town!
Susana, I agree with them: Your article was very interesting ! Really, I didn't know anything about the history of Merlo, and as Robert said it's good to know about our roots, I think it gives us identity.
Congratulations!
Susana, I agree with them: Your article was very interesting ! Really, I didn't know anything about the history of Merlo, and as Robert said it's good to know about our roots, I think it gives us identity.
Congratulations!
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