General José de San Martín, Chaco

General José de San Martín is a city in the north-east of the province of Chaco, Argentina. It is named after José de San Martín, the Argentine general that played a major role in South America's fight for independence from Spain (see for example Argentine War of Independence).

History

The town was founded with the name of El Zapallar on 25 April 1907, although the measurement and division of the terrain was properly finished on 2 July 1913. Its progress was slow due to the lack of communications, and began only in 1917, when Juan Godoy opened a precarious bus line that linked El Zapallar with Resistencia, the provincial capital (120 km away).

By 1924 El Zapallar had 5,000 inhabitants and was the head town of the Toba Department. It had a police station, a court, a civil registration, a social club, and mail and telegraph services. That year featured the birth of El Zapallar Agricultural Cattleman Association. The Quijano railroad line also contributed to the growth of the town, by connecting it to Lapachito.

A Development Commission was created by decree of Hipólito Yrigoyen in 1928. In 1934 the town was turned into a municipality, which was re-named General José de San Martín in 1955.

Communications

The region is crossed southwest to northwest by National Route 90, asphalted, that links it to Resistencia, and also by the Provincial Routes 3 and 7, which cross it from east to west and from east to southwest, respectively. The city has an airstrip of limited capacity.