Ciudad de Cipolletti-Rio Negro-Patagonia-Argentina-Producciones Vicari.(Juan Franco Lazzarini)

STORIES - LEGENDS - TALES - FILMS - EDITS - RESTORATIONS: BY JUAN FRANCO LAZZARINI. In June 1879, Argentine Army troops arrived at the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén Rivers (the source of the Río Negro) and erected a military fortification they named Fortín Confluencia. However, it burned down and was completely destroyed shortly afterward. Months later, a new fort was built and named Fortín 1ra. División (Fort 1st Division) because it was under the jurisdiction of the First Division of the Río Negro Expeditionary Army. Existing documents indicate the fort's founding date as September 1879, although a military presence was already established in the area when the troops arrived in June of that year. In any case, the presence of the original Indigenous inhabitants dates back many years. They were subjugated by the Conquest of the Desert, during which the military focused on promoting and supporting agricultural and livestock activities to serve as the foundation for the settlement of colonists who would form new towns in the conquered territories. At that time, the central government designated lands for sale and distributed others among the military personnel who participated in the Conquest, granting a significant number of hectares to companies to promote their development. Among the companies that began operations during this period was the San Juan Wine Company, to which the government had granted a concession of 50,000 hectares. However, unable to make significant improvements, they interested Colonel Fernández Oro in purchasing the land. The Colonel founded the Lucinda Colony, which, with the arrival of the railroad and the imminent construction of the bridge over the Neuquén River, experienced a period of great economic growth in the area.