Municipality of San Francisco del Valle

San Francisco del Valle is a municipality in the Ocotepeque Department in Honduras.

Its original name of Chucuyuco is an indigenous word that means «Hills of Parrots.»

San Francisco del Valle has existed since the 16th century under the name CHUCUYUCO (a CHORTI word meaning «Place of Parrots»). It was an indigenous settlement located on the right bank of the Río Grande or Alax, occupying the lands known as Vega de Arce, Marquetado, and La Laguna.

Its inhabitants lived in stone, adobe, and thatch houses and engaged in agriculture, cultivating maize, pumpkins, indigo, and more. They also practiced pottery and witchcraft.

Later, due to the floods of the Río Grande or Alax, they relocated to the left bank of the river to the site currently occupied by the Catholic church. The mestizo population settled in the center of the municipality. In 1718, the Villa of Chucuyuco belonged to the Curato of Sensenti (in the first population census, it appeared as «Chucuyue» or «Chucuyuco» and was part of the Curato of Sensenti). In 1736, following the visit of Franciscan friars from Comayagua, the Catholic church was built.

In 1838, the indigenous population of Chucuyuco was decimated by a cholera epidemic that swept the region. 39 mestizo families fled the disease and relocated to the Hacienda of San Juan or San Marcos, where the town of San Marcos Ocotepeque was founded. The Coloal mine, located in the Merendon Mountains within the municipality of San Francisco del Valle, was exploited between approximately 1830 and 1880, producing gold and silver.

Families such as Guirst, Rodezno, and Pineda arrived at this mine. When the mine ceased operations, the descendants of these families settled in the town of San Francisco, contributing to its development. Other families from different areas, such as Mejía, López, and Argeñal, also arrived. In 1880, Don Juan Coronado Perdomo, Municipal Mayor, opened two schools for boys, one in San Francisco del Valle and another in Coloal.

In the population census of 1887, it appeared as San Francisco Chucuyue or San Francisco Chucuyuco. In the same year, the telegraph office was established. In 1890, during the mayoralty of Don Lorenzo Folgar, the first public washhouses with hygienic conditions were built, one in the property of Don Daniel Pineda Rodezno and another on the Ahuate River.

In 1894, during the mayoralty of Don Jesus Pineda Rodezno, to adorn the public square, he ordered the planting of a ceiba tree, which still stands today and is an icon of the municipality.

In 1904, Don Jesus Pineda Rodezno initiated the cultivation of coffee in the Sensenti Valley. He brought Arabica coffee seeds and planted the first farm on his estate called El Suntulin, later known as La Máquina. He was also the first to introduce sugarcane cultivation in the area and brought the first iron mill, which led people to call him La Máquina.

In the early 20th century, cattle ranches such as San Nicolás, El Ahuate, El Porvenir, and El Morro were developed. The population began to settle around the Catholic church, but due to an epidemic, the population dwindled and people migrated to other places. When the epidemic subsided, many of the inhabitants returned and settled around the church of the Franciscans, which led to a change in name.

Location

The municipality borders La Labor and Sensenti to the north, San Marcos to the south and east, and Sinuapa to the west. It is located in the Sensenti Valley.

Traditions

San Francisco del Valle is a municipality with many traditions, some of which are unique to the municipality. It is also known for hosting the best patron saint festival in the department.