San Juan del Sur: 150 Years of History
Written by Ana Maria Ch. De Holmann and edited by Sarah LaBarre
San Juan del Sur 1856
In October of 2002, the Port of San Juan del Sur commemorated its 150th anniversary of obtaining city status. As part of this celebration, it was officially recognized as “Nicaragua’s Tourist Port.” San Juan’s historical significance is clearly rooted in its prime geographical location on Nicaragua’s southern Pacific Coast, which has made it a hub for trade, communication, and tourism for centuries.
San Juan del Sur has undergone numerous name changes over the years. In the second half of the 16th century, it was called “The Port of San Juan del Sur in the Southern Sea.” Archival records show at least three different names used in the 19th century, including “Port of Independence,” “San Juan of the Concordance,” and “Pineda City.” None of these names stuck, however, and although locals most often use the short form “San Juan,” in certain contexts it remains preferable to use the full name to distinguish the city from San Juan del Norte on the Atlantic Coast.
In 1846, at the beginning of the California Gold Rush, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt established a transit route to facilitate the trip between New York and California. Transferring from Vanderbilt’s Transit Company steamboats to smaller river- and lake-based steamboats, and covering part of the distance on foot, by mule, or by stagecoach, travelers crossed the isthmus between San Juan del Sur and San Juan del Norte in approximately twenty hours. This innovation cut travel time between East and West Coasts from six months to less than one.
Hotel Estrella in the 1930's
San Juan del Sur also played an important role in the conflict between Nicaraguans and U.S. filibusters, first in a local skirmish that resulted in the ouster of Chief Director Laureano Pineda, and later as the site of various battles in the National War against troops led by William Walker. In 1855, San Juan was witness to Walker’s retreat after his June 29 defeat in Rivas; two months later, it served as the arrival point for more filibusters who attacked and took over the city of Granada. On November 23, 1856 the port hosted the battle between William Walker’s schooner “Granada” and the Costa Rican brigantine “Once de Abril”, and finally on May 5, 1857 San Juan was the scene of Walker’s final retreat on the “St. Mary” after his surrender in Rivas.
Furthermore, San Juan del Sur has been an important communication center. In 1876, telegraphic service was initiated between San Juan and the port of Corinto on the northern Pacific Coast. Six years later, a door was opened from Nicaragua to the world with a submarine cable installment that was managed by All American Cable and lasted until the 1960s. In March of 1928, a train route was inaugurated from San Juan del Sur to San Jorge; in San Jorge, passengers boarded a steamboat crossing Lake Nicaragua to Granada, thus establishing a direct link between the coast and the interior of the country. From the 1940s on, San Juan flourished as a hub for a wide variety of regional and international exports, including precious wood and live cattle.
San Juan del Sur in the 1950's
In recent years, the most important commercial activity in San Juan has been tourism, thanks in part to the arrival of cruise ships during the first four and last four months of the year. Because of its wealth of natural and cultural resources, its tranquility, and the welcoming attitude of the sanjuaneños, this beautiful port town will continue to play a key role in the economic and social development of Nicaragua.
San Juan del Sur, port that I will never forget.
Its blue sea, that one night I admired
and went away with the hope of coming back…
--from a popular song by Maria Vila (Costa Rica)
[adapted from the brochure “San Juan del Sur: 150 Years of History” by Ana Maria Ch. de Holmann]
San Juan del Sur Today
