July 9, 1952 Puerto Peñasco officially became a municipality, with ship-owner and merchant Victor Estrella serving as its first “Presidente Municipal”. Yet, inhabitants in and around Puerto Peñasco date back to thousands of years ago with the indigenous peoples of the Malpaís, Sandieguito, Amargoza and Cia-had O’odham in the area of the Pinacate (Munro, 2007). In light of Puerto Peñasco’s 60th year as a municipality, we present a short selection of excerpts from the text A Brief History of Puerto Peñasco by local author, artist, historian, and cultural icon Guillermo Munro Palacio:
A short introduction
Documents show that as early as 1922 recreational fisherman from Arizona visited this area, known for its abundance of fish and sea life. …it wasn’t until 1928 when the first residents established themselves in what was a fishing village known at that time as Rocky Point.
From Rocky Point to Puerto Peñasco
In 1826 the area received the name of Rocky Point from Lieutenant William Hale Hardy, retired officer of the Royal British Navy, who navigated along the coasts of Baja California and Sonora in search of pearls and precious metals. It was known on navigational charts by this name until 1936… In 1936, General Lázaro Cárdenas visited the area in the midst of his presidential campaign and asked about the meaning of “Rocky Point” – he was told “Punta Peñasco”, therefore the name remained Puerto Punta Peñasco for some years, until finally becoming simply Puerto Peñasco.
In 1932 a regional police office was declared for Rocky Point, the first representative being Guillermo Ortega. Then, in 1948 the first Municipal Building was inaugurated, which also served as a school and telegraph office. It ceased functioning as a school in 1951 and as government seat in 1974, though saw the naming of Puerto Peñasco as a municipality on July 9, 1952.
Excerpts from: Munro Palacio, G. (2007) Breve Historia de Puerto Peñasco / a Brief History of Puerto Peñasco. De Cierto Mar Editores. Puerto Peñasco, Sonora.
Photos: Shared by Peñasco Recreation, Co.
Una corta introducción
Existen escritos que ya desde 1922 los pescadores deportivos de Arizona visitaban este lugar conocido por su abundancia de pescado y mariscos… fue hasta en 1928 cuando se establecieron los primeros residentes en lo que fue el campo pesquero conocido entonces como Rocky Point.
De Rocky Point a Puerto Peñasco
En 1826 el lugar recibe el nombre de Rocky Point por parte del teniente William Hale Hardy, oficial retirado de la Real Armada Naval de Inglaterra, cuando por esos años recorría la costa de sonora y Baja California, en la búsqueda de perlas y metales preciosos. Con ese nombre fue conocido hasta 1936 en las cartas de navegación…En 1936, Puerto Peñasco recibió la visita del general Lázaro Cárdenas y su comitiva en plena campaña presidencial. El general preguntó por el significado de Rocky Point y le dijeron: “Punta Peñasco”, y el nombre quedó como Puerto Punta Peñasco por algunos años, hasta que finalmente sólo fue Puerto Peñasco.
En 1932 se declaró a Rocky Point “delegación de policía,” el primer delegado fue el Sr. Guillermo Ortega. Posteriormente, en 1948 se inauguró el edificio municipal que fue también en parte escuela y telégrafo. Dejó de funcionar como escuela en 1951 y como presidencia municipal en 1974; aunque vio el nombramiento de Puerto Peñasco como municipio el 9 de junio de 1952.
I agree with Russ, another great history lesson about Penasco. Amazing how tough people had to be in those early days just to survive here. Sami talked about spontaneous combustion the other day and I doubt it has changed in the past 90 yrs. We hit 101.5 F on our West facing porch today, really appreciate A/C.