Timeline of Ponce, Puerto Rico, history

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico.

16th and 17th centuries

• 1508 – Cacique Agüeybaná, the cacique who led the region of which Ponce was a part, greets Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León on his arrival to the island of Puerto Rico.
• 1511 – Agüeybaná II, the cacique of the area that would later be known as Ponce, leads the Taíno rebellion of 1511 against the Spanish invaders but later dies of battle wounds.
• 1646 – The area settled by the Spanish colonists is first referred to by the name of "Ponce".^[1][2]
• 1670 – A chapel is erected in the middle of the Spanish settlement and dedicated in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
• 1692 – The Spanish settlement at Ponce is recognized as a hamlet by the Spanish King Carlos II.

18th century

• 1712 – The populated place is chartered as El Poblado de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Ponce (The village of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Ponce).
• 1742 – The English attack Ponce and the invasion is repealed by local citizens.^[3]
• 1787 – The 1787 Boricua earthquake cracks the walls of the Our Lady of Guadalupe church.^[4]

19th century

• 1812 – First Constitutional mayor takes office, José Ortíz de la Renta.
• 1820 – A large fire that "almost destroyed the early Ponce settlement" takes place, prompting Governor Miguel de la Torre to order that "every male from 16 to 60 years old must become a [volunteer] firefighter".
• 1831 – The first known division of the village into barrios^[5]
• 1833 – Hacienda Buena Vista is established.
• 1839 – The town's chapel is demolished and a new church with two octagonal towers is built in its place.
• 1843 – Mayor Juan Rondón inaugurates the Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro cemetery (then called Cementerio Civil) and he is also first person to be buried in it.
• 1845 – A fire in Barrio La Playa destroys most of the sea-front settlement
• 1846 – The Ponce City Hall is built to be used as a jail.
• 1848 – Granted the status of villa (town).^[6]
• 1858 – Carnaval de Ponce starts its annual celebration.
• 1857 – Construction of Carretera Central (today's PR-14 and PR-1), joining Ponce and San Juan, begins.^[7]
• 1863:
  • Plaza de Mercado Isabel Segunda is completed
  • Santo Asilo de Damas is founded in by Sister Francisca Paz Cabrera
• 1864 – Teatro La Perla, so named to honor the Virgin of Montserrat (who was known as "The Pearl of the Mediterranean."^[8][9]) opens with La Campana de la Almudaina.
• 1877 – Granted status of city.^[10]
• 1882 – Great Agricultural and Financial Fair.
• 1870:
  • Juan Bertoli builds a home for mayor Ermelindo Salazar which would later become Centro Cultural de Ponce Carmen Solá de Pereira
  • Ponce Municipal Library, Puerto Rico's oldest public library, opens as Gabinete de Lectura.
• 1873 – Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad, the first Anglican church anywhere in Latin America, is built.
• 1876 – Hurricane San Felipe hits Ponce as a Category 4 hurricane.
• 1885 – Hospital Tricoche opens after an endowment by Valentin Tricoche.
• 1886 – Leaders of the Partido Autonomista Puertorriqueño deliver their Plan de Ponce manifesto,^[11][12] also known as Plan Autonomista de Ponce.^[13]
• 1887 – The Spanish activate the Caja de Muertos Light followed, two years later, by the Cardona Island Light.
• 1889 – Cardona Island Light is lit by the Spaniards
• 1894 – The Spanish military barracks at Ponce are built
• 1895:
  • Hotel Meliá opens its doors as a 9-room lodging house on a two-story structure
  • Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño is established.
• 1897:
  • The Spanish military opens a military hospital in Ponce
  • Manuel V. Domenech designs the Rosaly-Batiz Residence for Ponce mayor, Pedro Juan Rosaly.
• 1898:
  • Largest city in the island, Ponce has a population of 22,000.
  • The United States declares war on Spain, invades Puerto Rico, and American General Miles takes the city without resistance as its citizens preferred its beautiful architecture not be destroyed by bombardment.
• 1899:
  • Manuel V. Domenech unveils Residencia Armstrong-Poventud across from the Ponce Cathedral.
  • 25 January 1899 – The "El Polvorin" fire threatens to burn down the city
  • Hurricane San Ciriaco kills 500 people in the city and causes coffee harvest damage from which the coffee industry never recovered.

20th century

• 1901 – Both Cementerio Católico San Vicente de Paul and Cementerio Civil de Ponce are established
• 1902 – Ponce High School is founded
• 1907:
  • The Puerto Rico Episcopal Church founds Hospital San Lucas.
  • The Methodist Church builds Primera Iglesia Metodista Unida de Ponce in the city; next year it builds Iglesia Metodista Unida de La Playa de Ponce
• 1909 – El Día is founded as "El Diario de Puerto Rico; it would be renamed "El Nuevo Día" in 1970 upon its relocation to San Juan^[14]
• 1910:
  • Campo Atlético Charles H. Terry is inaugurated
  • The Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico meetinghouse where the Ponce Massacre would take place 27 years later is built
  • Blas Silva designs the Residencia Subirá.
• 1911:
  • Casa Salazar-Candal and Casa Serrallés are built
  • The tomb-monument Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorín is erected
  • Alfredo B. Wiechers completes building his home, later termed Casa Wiechers-Villaronga.
• 1913 – Casa Oppenheimer and Casa Font-Ubides are built.
• 1917 – Banco de Ponce opens for business.
• 1918 – The 1918 San Fermín earthquake does major damage to the Teatro La Perla, closing it until 1941, and the Catedral Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, bring down its two iconic towers
• 1919 – Puerto Rico Iron Works and Rovira Biscuits Corporation start production
• 1922 – Antiguo Casino de Ponce opens its doors.
• 1924:
  • The Beaux-Arts-style Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño and Banco de Ponce buildings are erected.
  • The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce is established.
• 1925 – Dr. Manuel de la Pila Iglesias establishes Clinica Dr. Pila
• 1926:
  • Casa Rosita Serrallés is built
  • Colegio Ponceño de Varones opens its doors
  • Mercado de las Carnes is built to supplement the meat market needs of Plaza de Mercado Isabel Segunda
• 1927 – Casa Fernando Luis Toro is built in La Alhambra, "the first upper-class suburban development ever built in Puerto Rico."^[15]
• 1928 – Hurricane San Felipe Segundo impacts Ponce and surrounding areas at Category 5 force.
• 1930 – Castillo Serrallés is built.
• 1931 – Teatro Fox Delicias shows its first movie.
• 1932:
  • The building later renamed the Luis A. Ferré United States Courthouse and Post Office Building opens as a post office and federal courthouse on Calle Atocha.
  • Hurricane San Ciprian launches against the Ponce area destroying citrus, sugar, coffee, tobacco, and other harvests.
• 1934 – Bosque Estatal Toro Negro is established with 6,800 cuerdas
• 1937 – US-appointed governor, the Continental Blanton Winship order the infamous Masacre de Ponce, which takes place at Calle Marina and Calle Aurora.
• 1940 – WPAB begins transmission
• 1941:
  • Club Náutico de Ponce is formed
  • Luis A. Ferre founds Ponce Cement, Inc.
• 1946 – Hospital Oncológico Andrés Grillasca is established.
• 1948:
  • Colegio San Conrado is founded
  • Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico starts courses at Colegio San Conrado
  • A replacement to the original monument-obelisk Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorín, destroyed by the 1918 San Fermín earthquake is erected
• 1949 – Estadio Francisco Montaner opens as a baseball park
• 1954 – Enrique "Quique" Lucca Caraballo forms La Sonora Ponceña
• 1955:
  • The Ponce YMCA Building is built and starts its offerings to the youth
  • Mercedita Airport starts operations as a commercial airfield
• 1956:
  • Parque de la Abolición is built together with Concha Acústica de Ponce and the Monumento a la abolición de la esclavitud
  • Ateneo de Ponce is established
• 1958:
  • WRIK-TV Channel 7, starts transmitting
  • Centro Comercial Santa Maria opens in the Mariani sector of Barrio Canas Urbano^[16]
• 1959 – Luis A. Ferré opens Museo de Arte de Ponce at the Ermelindo Salazar Residence with 72 works of art.
• 1960 – The Hotel Ponce Intercontinental opens its doors.
• 1961 – Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law, the first private law school in the Island, is established
• 1962:
  • Zona Histórica de Ponce is first designated.
  • Industrias Vassallo starts operation molding plastics
  • Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico opens a branch in Ponce
• 1963 – Centro Cultural de Ponce Carmen Solá de Pereira starts functioning.
• 1964 – Los Chinos de Ponce start selling ice cream at King's Cream, across Plaza Las Delicias.
• 1970 – The University of Puerto Rico opens a campus in Ponce, University of Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus
• 1972:
  • ColiseoJuan Pachín Vicéns, now Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns debuts
  • Prinair Flight 191 crashes on its approach to Mercedita Airport killing five people.
• 1977:
  • Ponce School of Medicine starts operation as part of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico, but shortly thereafter emerges as an independent institution
  • Policía Municipal de Ponce is established
• 1978 – Two young independentista men are murdered at Cerro Maravilla in an ambush by Puerto Rico Police at Cerro Maravilla in Barrio Anón.
• 1980:
  • Parque del Retiro is established on Calle Villa.
  • Caja de Muertos is designated a nature reserve.
  • Cruce a Nado Internacional kicks off its annual sporting event
• 1981 – The momouth Plaza de Mercado Juan Bigas building opens, replacing Plaza de Mercado Isabel Segunda, but would close 26 years later to become Ponce Servicios.
• 1983 – Coro de Niños de Ponce debuts.
• 1985 – The Ponce en Marcha Plan is drafted by Governor Rafael Hernández Colón
• 1984 – Cruceta del Vigía and Parque de la Ceiba open to the public.
• 1985 – The Mameyes Landslide tragedy buries over 100 Ponceños while they slept in Barrio Portugues Urbano.
• 1986 – Bienal de Arte de Ponce starts its biannual expositions.
• 1987 – Three museums open their doors: Casa Paoli, Museo Hacienda Buena Vista, and Museo de la Masacre de Ponce.
• 1990 – Four museums open their doors: Museo de la Música Puertorriqueña, Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro, Parque de Bombas, Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center
• 1991:
  • Museo Castillo Serrallés starts operation as a museum
  • Parque Pedro Albizu Campos is inaugurated
  • Paseo Atocha is converted from Calle Atoche to a pedestrian mall
  • Residencia Armstrong-Poventud opens as a museum of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña
• 1992:
  • The city celebrates its 300 anniversary
  • Centro Cultural de Ponce Carmen Solá de Pereira is established at the former Residencia Ermelindo Salazar
  • Museo de la Historia de Ponce occupies the Casa Serralles as a museum
  • Museo Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre opens its doors at the former Campo Atletico Charles H. Terry
  • Parque del Tricentenario's construction is completed
  • Commercial shopping mall Plaza del Caribe is inaugurated
  • Villa Pesquera is organized under the initiative of Mayor Rafael Cordero Santiago
• 1993:
  • Las Justas annual sports event are moved from San Juan to the city of Ponce.
  • The city hosts the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games.
  • Grand Prix de Ponce starts an annual racing event.
• 1995 – Parque Urbano Dora Colón Clavell opens.
• 1996:
  • Bosque Estatal de Cerrillos is formed with 200 cuerdas of land. It is the only state forest entirely within the municipality
  • Museo de la Arquitectura Ponceña opens the former Casa Wiechers-Villaronga to the public
• 1998 – Paseo Tablado La Guancha is expanded into a multi-use La Guancha recreational complex with boarwalk, beach, tennis courts and observation tower.

21st century

• 2001 – Denise Quiñones wins the Miss Universe 2001 beauty pageant.
• 2004:
  • Bolera de Ponce reopens as Bolera Caribe; would later host the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games
  • Letras de Ponce are unvelied
• 2006:
  • Museo del Autonomismo Puertorriqueño opens at Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro under mayor Francisco Zayas Seijo
  • Parque Luis A. Wito Morales opens adjacent to the Bosque Estatal de Cerrillos
• 2007:
  • Ponce Grand Prix de Atletismo commences annual track and field competitions at Paquito Montaner
  • Biblioteca Municipal Mariana Suárez de Longo opens at its permanent home on Bulevar Miguel Pou
• 2008:
  • Festival Nacional de la Quenepa begins its yearly celebrations.
  • The Government of Puerto Rico declares Punta Cucharas in Ponce's Barrio Canas a Nature Reserve
• 2009 – Ponce Ramada Hotel opens at the former Casa Saurí house.
• 2011:
  • FC Leones soccer team forms and starts playing at Estadio Paquito Montaner
  • Parque Lineal Veredas del Labrador Phase I opens.
• 2012:
  • Día Mundial de Ponce and the Ponce Jazz Festival are first observed.
  • Parque Ecológico Urbano is inaugurated.
• 2013 – Ponce Servicios opens as the largest municipal office building.

See also

• History of Ponce
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ponce
• List of mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico
• Subdivisions of Ponce, Puerto Rico
• List of rivers of Ponce
• List of mountains in Ponce
• List of roads in Ponce
• History of Puerto Rico

other cities in Puerto Rico

• Timeline of San Juan, Puerto Rico

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ponce, Puerto Rico.

• U.S. Library of Congress, Prints & Photos Division. Materials related to Ponce, Puerto Rico, various dates.
• Digital Public Library of America. Works related to Ponce, PR, various dates
• Map of Ponce, 1943

Coordinates: 18°27′00″N 66°04′00″W / 18.45°N 66.066667°W / 18.45; -66.066667

Years in Puerto Rico (1899–present)
1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020