Two sister towns in central-western Uruguay, closely linked by history, territory and shared identity.

 

Brief historical context

 The area now occupied by these towns was a sparsely populated rural region, dominated by cattle ranches and fields dedicated to agriculture and cattle breeding. It was part of the former colonial territories which, after Uruguay's independence, were divided into large fractions of rural land.

The region was integrated to a system of post roads and wagon roads, which linked Montevideo with other population centres in the interior. The area served primarily as a staging and production area to supply larger markets. Along the streams - such as the Miguelete stream - the first scattered rural settlements and small chapels arose, linked to the life of the rural settlers.

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The development of both towns is closely linked to the railway, which arrived in 1894 and marked a before and after in the region. The station, installed in a strategic point of connection between Montevideo and the coast of the country, attracted workers, traders and entire families that gave shape to the first settlements. Florencio Sánchez grew around the railway station, while Cardona consolidated as a centre of services, commerce and agricultural production.

 

Cardona was officially founded in 1903 and was granted city status in 1954, standing out for its economic dynamism and its tradition in agricultural, livestock and industrial production. The name Cardona comes from the Cardona family, owners of one of the oldest and most important estancias in the area in the 19th century. According to historical records, the ‘Estancia de los Cardona’ occupied a wide extension of land in the area where the city is located today. This family left a strong mark on the region, to the point that when the railway station was founded and the town began to take shape, the name ‘Cardona’ was adopted in recognition of this already established geographical and social reference.

 

For its part, Florencio Sánchez, named after the renowned Uruguayan playwright, grew in parallel and obtained the rank of city in 1993, being a key point of passage and road connection.

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Throughout the 20th century, both cities developed a shared identity, with institutions, popular festivals, means of communication and family ties that transcend administrative borders. Today they form an indivisible urban and social fabric, a symbol of coexistence and cooperation between two departments.