THE TOWN

The town of Garzon

Garzón was founded in 1892 by Mr. Fermín de León.

It was a staging post located near Garzón stream and the Royal Road (Camino Real) that leads to Rocha, where the then Governor Vicente Garzón had a saltery (saladero).

Until 1940, there was a windmill there and around 2000 inhabitants lived in the place.

Nowadays, the town has only 200 inhabitants that mainly live off rural activities and the exploitation of gray granite quarries, so typical of the architecture of the area. Several visual artists have chosen this destination as their dwelling place to devote themselves to painting and sculpture.

The main square has been carefully and symmetrically designed with old and shady palm trees framing the chapel and the social club.

The Sierras of Garzon

Near the town, the hills show their native flora and fauna, in contrast to the Uruguayan coast that has been thickly planted with foreign trees.

The stream of José Ignacio and its tributaries rise in the mountain range surrounding the town, a sample of its autochthonous geography. Small streams and cascades surround the dense crown-of-thorns tree forests, where wild boars, capybaras, rheas, mulitas and tatús (kinds of armadillos) among others native species, can be seen. Some birds that can be spotted there are the churrinche (a kind of cardinal), the viuditas (Tyrannidae family), owls and the picapalos (Furnariidae family).

Other native trees are the aruera, the espinillo, the blanquilla, and the thistles blooming in summer.