Casillas de Camineros

A former Casilla de Caminero on PR-14 (now Ave. Tito Castro) in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was designed by Manuel Maese and built by Eduardo Armstrong in 1886.

Casillas de Camineros[1] is the name in Spanish given to structures built every 6 kilometers during the latter part of the 19th century alongside the major roads built in Puerto Rico and provided as residences to the camineros, specially-trained government workers charged with providing maintenance to the surface of approximately six kilometers of a major road.

These Casillas de Camineros were built along five major routes: (1) the Mayagüez-Añasco road, (2) the Mayagüez-San Germán road, (3) the Ponce-Adjuntas road, (4) the Ponce-San Juan road, and (5) the Bayamón-Toa Baja road.[2] Forty-seven casillas were built, all by the Spanish government in Puerto Rico.[3] The road with the largest number of casillas was the Ponce-San Juan road, then known as Carretera Central; it had 33 casillas. The casilla on Avenida Tito Castro in Ponce was designed by Manuel Maese and built by Eduardo Armstrong in 1886.[4]

Abandoned in the latter part of the 20th century, the structures have faced different fates. Many of them have deteriorated or been demolished. Others have been put to other uses.[5]

  • Casilla # 10 during the Spanish-American War in 1898
    Casilla # 10 during the Spanish-American War in 1898
  • Casilla with windows on all four sides
    Casilla with windows on all four sides
  • Casilla # 15 on PR-1 in Caguas
    Casilla # 15 on PR-1 in Caguas
  • Casilla # 2 on PR-2 in Toa Baja
    Casilla # 2 on PR-2 in Toa Baja

See also

References

  1. ^ Luis F. Pumarada O'Neill (31 July 1994). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Historic Bridges of Puerto Rico". National Park Service. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  2. ^ Las Casillas. Archived 17 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine José A. Mari Mut. edicionesdigitales.com 2009-2013. Accessed 1 April 2018.
  3. ^ Nuestras Casillas de Camineros. Archived 18 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine José A. Mari Mut. edicionesdigitales.com 2009-2013. Accessed 1 April 2018.
  4. ^ De San Juan a Ponce por la Carretera Central. Archived 30 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine} José A. Mari Mut. Copyright 2011-2013. p. 121. Accessed 8 February 2018.
  5. ^ Pumarada O'Neill, Luis; Castro Arroyo, María de los Ángeles (September 1997). La carretera central: un viaje escénico a la historia de Puerto Rico (PDF) (in Spanish). Oficina Estatal de Preservación Histórica de Puerto Rico. p. 6. ISBN 0965001121. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2022.