Reading - San Francisco Libre Association
The Town Twinning Organisation's Internet Website

History of San Francisco Libre

The area now known as the municipality of San Francisco Libre, was settled in 1826.

Between the years of 1900 and 1910, the town was a transhipment route linking the north of the country (Ciudad Darío - Matagalpa) with the capital, Managua.

Because of this route, the town became a commercial port, as goods from the north of the country, made their way to Managua. For this reason, the name 'Puerto' (Port) is still used by the current inhabitants, to refer to the two distinct villages that form the urban area of the municipality: Puerto Nueve and Puerto Viejo.

The port allowed the population to develop commercial activities. At that time, the main means of communication were the small boats which ploughed the waters of Lake Managua.

The first villages in the municipality were Hacienda San Roque, Telpochapa, Laurel Galán y San Francisco del Palmar. Originally the municipality was known as San Francisco del Carnicero (San Francisco of the Butcher) after the commercial activity that developed in the town, that consisted of the hunting of deer, and the raising of cattle that was butchered, and sold in Managua. In the 1980's, the name was changed to 'San Francisco Libre', after the it became the first town to be declared free from illiteracy through the work of the Sandinista government's national literacy campaign.