Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Aguadilla, founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla is spread over 15 barrios and Aguadilla Pueblo. It is a principal city and core of the Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastián Metropolitan Statistical Area. This region was already inhabited and known as Aguadilla before 1770. Nevertheless, according to Dr. Agustín Stahl in his Foundation of Aguadilla, it was not until 1780 that the town was officially founded. The construction of a new church and the proceedings to become an independent village began in 1775.
Etymology and nicknames
Aguadilla is a shortening of the town's original name San Carlos de La Aguadilla. The name Aguadilla is a diminutive of Aguada, which is the name of the town and municipality located to the south. Some of the municipality's nicknames are: Jardín del Atlántico, Pueblo de los Tiburones and La Villa del Ojo de Agua after the natural water spring that was used by early settlers and Spanish soldiers as a water source which is now located in El Parterre Square in Aguadilla Pueblo.History
Pre-Columbian settlements and foundation
According to sources, a Taíno settlement called Aymamón was located close to the Culebrinas River.The present territory of Aguadilla was originally part of the territory of Aguada. Movement towards creating a separate municipality began as early as 1736. A resident of Aguada named Pedro de Arce wrote about the matter to the Spanish crown. In this document, widespread enthusiasm among the residents of the Aguadilla barrio in support for the idea is claimed. However, a strong opposition emerged from their neighbors in other areas of Aguada. This conflict stalled the process for decades. The first advances came in the form of a small chapel being built in 1770. Two years later, the community hosted influential Spanish politicians Luis de Córdova and Miguel de Muesas. Their host, Bernardo Sosa, and several neighbors requested them to lobby in favor of their request before peninsular authorities.
In 1775, the foundation of Aguadilla was approved by Córdova, with Sosa as the town's first mayor. Following the celebrations, a larger Church began being built. In 1776, Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra in his description of the towns of the island, mentioned it as the "new Town of San Carlos de La Aguadilla."
But it was not until 1780 that the territory was properly segregated, making the founding of the town official. Originally, Aguadilla was constituted by the Victoria and Higüey barrios. The population in the town of Aguadilla continued to increase constantly mainly due to its excellent port and strategic location in the route of the boats. In 1776, when Santo Domingo became independent for the first time, the loyalists of Spanish descent emigrated to Puerto Rico, mainly to Aguadilla, which caused the population to continue increasing significantly.
19th Century, becoming a Loyal Village
The early decades of the 19th Century brought with them several incidents that were a hindrance to the town economy, beginning with a large scale fire that destroyed most of the houses and had lasting repercussions. In 1825, hurricane Santa Ana struck Puerto Rico, destroying most of Aguadilla's orange farms. In 1831, according to Don Pedro Tomás de Córdova, the area or "party" of Aguadilla belonged to Aguada. At this time, the territorial organization of Aguadilla was as follows: Pueblo Norte, Pueblo Sur, Ceiba Alta, Ceiba Baja, Montaña, Malezas, Aguacate, Dos Palmas, Camaseyes, Plainela, Borinquen, Arenales, Higüey, Corrales, Victoria, and Mangual.Don Pedro Tomás de Córdova mentions the road of Aguadilla formed by Punta Borinquen and San Francisco, as the "anchorage of the ships that travel from Europe to Havana and Mexico". He adds that its "port is the most frequented in the Island due to the proportions that it offers to refresh all class of ship." San Antonio community was established in the mid-19th century. It was populated by 60 families. Originally the place where these families were located was known as Bajura de Vadi, the place later to become known as San Antonio. In January 1841 a Royal Order transferred the judicial party from Aguada to Aguadilla.
In 1860, Aguadilla was officially declared a village by Queen Isabela II, with all the benefits associated with it. Several years later, when the island was territorially organized into seven departments, Aguadilla became the head of the third department that included the municipalities of Aguada, Isabela, Lares, Moca, Rincón, and San Sebastián. A municipal cemetery was inaugurated in 1804, but its space was limited by 1873. In 1878, according to Don Manuel Ebeda y Delgado, the territorial organization of Aguadilla had varied a little. At this time Plainela, Higüey, and Mangual barrios are not mentioned. The Dos Palmas barrio appears as Palmar. Also at this time, three new barrios are mentioned: Guerrero, Caimital Alto, and Caimital Bajo. In 1893, hurricane San Roque brought devastation to the village's plantation and destroyed some houses.
Following the Spanish-American War
Following the change of sovereignty over the island in 1898, the territorial organization of Aguadilla remained unchanged in comparison to 1878. A series of natural disasters would impact the town. In 1899, hurricane San Ciriaco passed over Puerto Rico, causing widespread destruction everywhere, including Aguadilla. In the Census held that year, downtown Aguadilla appears constituted by Higüey, Iglesia, Nueva, Santa Barbara, and Tamarindo barrios. Malezas barrio appears subdivided into Maleza Alta and Maleza Baja. The 1918 San Fermín earthquake, and the tsunami that followed, directly impacted Aguadilla, killing 40 and damaging or destroying several landmarks including the church and town hall. San Antonio was completely destroyed by the tsunami, due to its proximity to the shore. The residents of the community decided to re-localize to a higher area further from shore.Luis R. Esteves and Juan Garcia established the first two theaters in the area. A new was social club form, known as "Luz del Porvenir". A new school system was the pride of the village because it offered them the opportunity to give their children an education without having to go south downtown. There was also a new bakery and a post office, among other facilities. At this time, the village also began its Patron Festival. The clothing industry was a major source of employment. In 1925, the District Hospital was inaugurated, later becoming known as “El Distrito”. After the Pedro J. Zamora Hospital opened in 1976, this facility became a private school.
On the early morning hours of November 7, 1944, Puerto Rico suffered the worst railroad accident in its history. Train No. 3 was traveling from San Juan to Ponce carrying passengers to their different hometowns for the island general elections to be held that same day. It stopped at the Jiménez Station in Aguadilla for a routine engineer and boilerman exchange with Train No. 4 which was heading to San Juan. The engineer assigned to Train No. 3's ride from Jiménez Station to Ponce was José Antonio Román, an experienced freight train engineer who had never worked in passenger travel. When the train left the station at
2:00 am, it was carrying 6 passenger cars with hundreds of commuters and two freight cars.
At 2:20 a.m. the train started to descend a hill section known as Cuesta Vieja in Aguadilla at, what some witnesses described as, an exaggerated speed. When the train reached the leveling-off point at the bottom of the hill it derailed. The steam locomotive crashed into a ditch where it exploded and one of the freight cars crashed into one of the passenger cars, killing many inside and injuring several. Witnesses described the scene as horrendous, with some accounts stating that parents were throwing their children out the windows to save them from the wreckage. Chief of Police Guillermo Arroyo stated that the locomotive, the express car, and three second class passenger cars were completely destroyed. Oscar Valle, an Aguadilla correspondent to El Mundo newspaper, summarized the scene with: "The locomotive suffered a terrible explosion as it derailed, and the impact was so strong that 3 passenger cars were converted into a fantastic mound of wreckage". In the end, 16 passengers lost their lives, including the engineer and the boilerman, and 50 were injured in the crash.
The territorial organization of Aguadilla did not change, until 1948, when the Puerto Rico Planning, Urbanization, and Zoning Board prepared the map of the city and its barrios, and following instructions of city authorities, Higüey and parts of Caimital Alto barrios are annexed to Downtown Aguadilla. During that decade, there had been a territorial dispute with Aguada, when that municipality claimed that the area belonging to Parque Colón was on their side of the Culebrinas river. The matter became contentious when a diversion was made of the original route in 1931, with Aguada mayor Julio César Román basing its complain on Law 60-1945, preparing a memorial with historical maps and other documents supporting its position that the old geographic divisions remained, which was presented before the board on
September 20, 1946. The municipality alleged that taxes had been paid over these terrains, which Aguadilla refuted by claiming that adequate corrections had taken place. The agency called for public hearings and a visual inspection, but emphasized that it had the sole jurisdiction to decide the outcome. A historical report was commissioned to Adolfo de Hostos, the Puerto Rico Government's Historian. The matter was contentious enough that it attracted parties from other places, such as a physician from Rio Piedras named Carlos González, who supported Aguada's claim. The Board ruled that Parque Colón belonged to Aguada, with mayor Alfredo González Pérez appealing the decision. Ultimately, Aguadilla prevailed and the contentious area remained in its jurisdiction.