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HISTORY
Canóvanas
was formerly a "barrio" (ward) of Loíza for 200 years. In 1909, the
Municipal administration was transferred to the new town of Canóvanas,
with Juan R. Calderón as its first mayor.
The name of Canóvanas comes from a local Taíno cacique called Canobaná (Canovanax).
According to history, this Cacique did not join the Taíno rebellion
against Spain and remained an ally.
Barrio Canóvanas was for two centuries an agricultural zone where sugar
cane was cultivated and sugar produced in mills belonging to several
local families; the Zequeira, Gambaro, Calderón, and later, families of
Irish origin; the Seary, Quidgley, Soegard, Skerret, and others.
Other wards of Loíza (which later became part of Canóvanas) were those
in the rural, mountainous parts of the municipality; Hato Puerco, Cubuy
and Lomas. Hato Puerco is mentioned in Municipal Protocols as early as
1827.
The 20-acre (8.1 ha) plot of land where the city of Canovanas was
constructed was purchased by Don Luis Hernaiz Veronne, a townhall
Senator and local farmer. The site location was strategic, to intercept
traffic on the old Spanish Road #7 (then Road #3 from San Juan to
Fajardo), and from Loíza to the towns of the Caguas Valley (Caguas,
Gurabo, Juncos), through the actual Road #185. This allowed Canóvanas
access to commerce and communication networks and the city rapidly
developed and progressed.
In 1970, Loíza and Canóvanas were separated as municipalities and the
old rural wards of Hato Puerco, Cubuy and Lomas, as well as Torrecilla
Alta, a former sugarcane workers colony next to the old Central
Canovanas, were all incorporated into the new municipality.
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