Cayey, Puerto Rico


Cayey, officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north east of Salinas and north of Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and west of San Lorenzo. Cayey is spread over 21 barrios plus Cayey Pueblo. It is part of the San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Cayey is notable for its surrounding mountains. The city has been actively growing since the 1990s, evidenced by its designation as a Metropolitan Area by the U.S. Census Bureau. It has experienced significant growth in commerce, and many major retailers, such as Wal-Mart have opened stores in the city. Industries in Cayey include sugar, tobacco and poultry. For tobacco there is a well-known company called Consolidated Cigar Corp. A new coliseum and hospital facilities have also been built. Coca-Cola is a major corporation that has a manufacturing facility in the town. Cayey is also host to one of the campuses of the University of Puerto Rico, the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey.

History

Cayey was founded on August 17, 1773, by Juan Mata Vázquez, who became its first mayor. It is popularly said that Cayey derives its name from the Taíno word for "a place of waters". It was named Cayey de Muesas in honor of Miguel de Muesas, the then governor of Puerto Rico. The town is located in a valley nestled between Puerto Rico's Cordillera Central mountain range and the Sierra de Cayey at roughly the midpoint of routes PR-1 and PR-52. The routes lead to a popular drive that provides panoramic views of the island from its highest points.
Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Cayey was 14,442.
An education base began in the early to mid-1950s when the Interamerican University opened a branch in Cayey providing teacher training through a night class scheme. In 1967 the University of Puerto Rico opened a campus in the former Henry Barracks Military Reservation, and in the early 1980s El Turabo University, subsidiary of the Ana G. Mendez conglomerate opened a campus in the old tobacco factory at the entrance of town. The Interamerican University will be opening a Graduate campus in front of the main town square, and there are conversations with a foreign educational concern to open a technology campus using the buildings left over by the Gordonshire Knitting Mills. There are three major private schools: Radians School, the long established Colegio de Nuestra Senora de la Merced and La Milagrosa School. Cayey's health care base expanded in the mid-1960s with the Mennonite Medical Center and a Municipal
Hospital along with laboratories, and urgent care centers that cater to the poor and the elderly.
With the construction of the Interstate, Cayey has evolved into a "bedroom community" with gated housing developments, located just 30 minutes from San Juan and 45 minutes away from Ponce. With pleasant weather and good private schools, Cayey has become a prime location for the affluent.
Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Cayey with significant amount of rain and wind. The hurricane destroyed 3,000 homes in Cayey.

Impact of Henry Barracks Military Reservation

Military Reservation was a lifeline for the residents of Cayey from 1901 to 1966, when it was declared excess land and passed to the General Services Administration for decommission. The property consisted of . The property was divided into three prominent encampments: the Spanish Camp or Campamento Español, Camp Henry or Henry Barracks, the Home of the third Battalion of the 65th Inf. Regiment that consisted of, and the Cayey Naval Radio Station ). This reservation is situated in the east of the town of Cayey. The Spanish Reservation containing an area of approximately, known as Hospital Hill was set apart by Executive Order of June 30, 1903, under an Act of Congress approved on July 7, 1902. The main army post was located in the northern part of the reservation, initially housing the Puerto Rico Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
The combined posts had approximately 1,200 men who used the resources provided by the town people. Families moved into Punta Brava and Vieques neighborhoods. A laundry, show shop, and other smaller stores were located right outside the gate. By 1906 about 350 civilians had jobs in the two posts.
The U.S. Department of the Navy submitted a proposal to raise three tall masts as part of a global radio communication linkage. In 1916 the Department of the Navy approved a budget of $40,000. At the time 300 men were hired to build the facility for a period of two-year, the project was completed in 1918
On September 11, 1928, a category five hurricane called San Felipe destroyed the temporary buildings at Henry Barracks, and the Navy Radio Station. A radio message was sent from the Cayey Navy Radio Station on September 18, 1928, to follow “All buildings Henry Barracks destroyed by hurricane September 13th”.
The Navy left Cayey and moved its station to Isla Grande and Stop 7 in Puerto de Tierra. All the land held by the Navy included Magazine Hill, which was taken over by the U. S. Army. The 65th Infantry Regiment remained in the north side of the post. The south side was converted into two shooting ranges
The decision was made to reconstruct all building for the regiment in the north side in concrete One hundred and ninety buildings were completed, to include the north side of Henry Barracks. Over 600 men were hired for a period of three years to work in these projects. During this period three large barrack buildings were constructed. The two one company barracks each had its own mess hall and kitchen and was occupied by an infantry company each. The two companies barrack located in the center of the quad occupied the Battalion Headquarters Co. and the Machine Gun Co.
By 1953, the U.S. Department of the Army had reached the conclusion that Henry Barracks would be closed in the near future. A full complement of maintenance personnel composed of professional, technical, and daily laborers were maintained in the Reservation. The growth of three major housing developments is evidence of the economic impact of the Reservation
While the all-Puerto Rican 65th Infantry regiment would never return to its home base, several other initiatives were undertaken, which had a direct impact on the economic development of the town and the region, one such initiatives was the commissioning of the Caribbean Signal Agency in 1959. Over the coming years several tenants occupied the lands comprised by the Henry Barracks Military Reservation, among them:
  • In the company size building to the west of the quad, the National Guard had its Officer Training School in 1965 and 1966. It was later moved to Camp Santiago in Salinas. The golf course was used as a helicopter landing strip.
  • YMCA Cuerpos de Paz, and VESPRA had an Administration Building, a swimming pool, a golf course and three houses, which housed the majors and their families.
  • The Encampment for Citizenship held its 1966 six-week encampment in the two-company building in the middle of the quad. One hundred fifty-one young leaders from 56 countries from all over the world meet in Cayey to learn to develop self-government and to perform community development projects.
  • The Foundation for Community Development moved to the housing is located in the southeastern part of the Post until 1972. Thousands of people received training in community development, and leadership during those years.

    Geography

Cayey is located in a valley surrounded by the Sierra de Cayey, a branching mountain range of the Cordillera Central where the Carite Forest Reserve is located, and the main ranges of the Cordillera Central to the west. Because of its location, Cayey is known for its mountains, its cool weather and its misty mornings, especially in winter. During Spanish colonial rule, Spanish soldiers assigned to Puerto Rico were sent to Cayey. Its cool weather resembled the weather of Spain and soldiers could become acclimated to the tropical weather. In winter, it is not unusual for the temperature to drop into the.
The Carite Forest Reserve
Cayey's climate is humid, rainy and mild compared to lower-elevation areas of the island, the area of the town is nearly high, so the climate is subtropical high. In summer average high Temperatures are around to and to in winter, and low around to in summer and to in winter. The record maximum temperature is and minimum. The average annual rainfall is 100 inches and maximum rainfall record in 24 hours is 20.87 inches of rain.

Flora and fauna

The golden coquí is a rare and possibly extinct leptodactylid frog species to Puerto Rico. Native to the municipality of Cayey, golden coquís have only been found in areas of dense bromeliad growth in the Sierra de Cayey between 2,123 and 2,575 feet above sea level. They get their name from the song the male coquis sing at night. The golden coqui is the smallest of the coqui frogs in Puerto Rico. Mature adult coquis are roughly the size of a dime. Male coquis are bright yellow where females tend to be more light yellow and brown. The golden coqui is the only frog species in the New World known to give birth to live young. These frogs are known around the whole island and are considered a symbol of Puerto Rico.

Barrios

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Cayey is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square and large Catholic church are located in a barrio referred to as "el pueblo", near the center of the municipality.
  1. Beatriz
  2. Cayey barrio-pueblo
  3. Cedro
  4. Cercadillo
  5. Culebras Alto
  6. Culebras Bajo
  7. Farallón
  8. Guavate
  9. Jájome Alto
  10. Jájome Bajo
  11. Lapa
  12. Matón Abajo
  13. Matón Arriba
  14. Monte Llano
  15. Pasto Viejo
  16. Pedro Ávila
  17. Piedras
  18. Quebrada Arriba
  19. Rincón
  20. Sumido
  21. Toita
  22. Vegas