Caparra Archaeological Site facts for kids
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Caparra
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The ruins of Juan Ponce de Leon's residence at Caparra
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 Location in Puerto Rico
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| Location | Guaynabo, Puerto Rico |
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| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 84003155 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | February 28, 1984 |
| Designated NHL | April 19, 1994 |
Caparra is an important archaeological site in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. An archaeological site is a place where people find old things from the past. This site was named a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1994.
It holds the remains of the very first Spanish capital city on the island. This city was started in 1508 and left empty in 1521. Caparra is the oldest known European settlement in what is now United States territory.
Today, the site is part of the Museum of the Conquest and Colonization of Puerto Rico. The museum shows many cool items found at Caparra and other old sites in Puerto Rico.
History of Caparra
In 1508, Juan Ponce de León started the first Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico. He named it Caparra. The name came from an old Roman village in Spain. This village was in the same province where Nicolás de Ovando was born. Ovando was the governor of Spain's Caribbean lands at that time.
Caparra is now known as the Pueblo Viejo area of Guaynabo. It is just west of the modern San Juan city.
The air in Caparra was not very healthy. Some religious leaders, called friars, wanted to move the settlement. They wanted to be closer to the bay and the sea. They said that many babies were getting sick and dying. They liked the area of the Islet of Puerto Rico. This place had features similar to the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands.
They finally got their wish when Ponce de León was no longer governor. By 1521, the move was finished. The new city was called "Villa de Puerto Rico." Over time, the island's name, San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico, and the city's name switched. That is why the capital is now called San Juan.
Ponce de León built the only stone house in Caparra. This house was also used as a trading house, an archive, and a place to store weapons. It became his permanent home. His family joined him there in 1509.
Finding Caparra's Past
The Caparra Site was first seen as important in 1936. This was during a project to build tourist places on the island. Adolfo de Hostos, Puerto Rico's official historian, led early digs in 1936 and 1937.
They found a large structure made of a type of concrete called tapia. A two-lane road cut through it. This structure matched Ponce de León's description of his own house. It was the only building not made of wood in the settlement. More digging found the main town square and where other buildings once stood.
The government of Puerto Rico bought the land in 1948. They moved the northern part of the house ruins to make the road wider. The road was made wider again in 1963. This destroyed the southern part of the structure found in 1936. The museum was opened in 1958. Archaeologists still study the site today.
A Story from Caparra
There is a story from 1530 about two Spanish men, Diego Ramos de Orozco and Diego Guilarte de Salazar. They lived in Caparra and looked for gold in Puerto Rico's rivers for Spain. Each man had about 40 Taíno people working for them.
They were good friends and planned to go to a secret, hard-to-reach place. They wanted to dig and find gold for themselves. When they found a large piece of gold, their friendship was tested. They had agreed to share it.
Orozco tried to keep the gold by using fake dice. But then he had a bad fall. Days later, his friend Guilarte came back with help. Orozco was dying. He confessed to using fake dice and asked his friend for forgiveness. A mountain in the Cordillera Central is named Sierra de Orozco after him.
