San Germán barrio-pueblo
{{Short description|Historical and administrative center (seat) of San Germán, Puerto Rico}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = San Germán barrio-pueblo
| native_name = Pueblo de San Germán
| native_name_lang = es
| settlement_type = Municipality Seat
| image_skyline = San Germán, Puerto Rico.jpg
| image_caption = The San Germán plaza
| image_map = San Germán barrio-pueblo, San Germán, Puerto Rico locator map.png
| map_caption = Location of San Germán barrio-pueblo within the municipality of San Germán shown in red
| pushpin_map = Caribbean
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Puerto Rico
| coordinates = {{coord|18.081019|-67.043287|region:US-PR|format=dms|display=inline, title}}
| coordinates_footnotes = {{cite web |title=US Gazetteer 2019|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_cousubs_72.txt |website=US Census |publisher=US Government}}
| subdivision_type = Commonwealth
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Puerto Rico}}
| subdivision_type1 = Municipality
| subdivision_name1 = {{flagicon image|Bandera de San Germán.svg}} San Germán
| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_total_sq_mi = 0.33
| area_land_sq_mi = 0.33
| area_water_sq_mi = 0
| population_as_of = 2010
| population_footnotes =
| population_note = Source: 2010 Census
| population_total = 2660
| population_density_sq_mi = 8060.6
| timezone = AST
| utc_offset = −4
| elevation_footnotes = {{GNIS|2415994|San Germán barrio-pueblo}}
| elevation_ft = 200
| postal_code_type = ZIP Code
| postal_code =
| area_code =
}}
San Germán barrio-pueblo is a barrio and the administrative center (seat) of San Germán, a municipality of Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 2,660.{{cite book|title=Puerto Rico: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts.pdf | url = https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo35934/cph-2-53.pdf|year=2010|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau}}{{cite book |last1=Picó |first1=Rafael |last2=Buitrago de Santiago |first2=Zayda |last3=Berrios |first3=Hector H. |title=Nueva geografía de Puerto Rico: física, económica, y social, por Rafael Picó. Con la colaboración de Zayda Buitrago de Santiago y Héctor H. Berrios. |url=https://archive.org/details/nuevageografad00pic/page/247|publisher=San Juan Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de Puerto Rico,1969}}{{cite book|author=Gwillim Law|title=Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=nXCeCQAAQBAJ|accessdate=25 December 2018|date=20 May 2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-0447-3|page=300}}{{cite web |title=US Census Barrio-Pueblo definition |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/help/en/barrio.htm |website=factfinder.com |publisher=US Census |accessdate=5 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513190743/https://factfinder.census.gov/help/en/barrio.htm |archive-date=13 May 2017 |url-status=dead }}
As was customary in Spain, in Puerto Rico, the municipality has a barrio called pueblo which contains a central plaza, the municipal buildings (city hall), and a Catholic church. Fiestas patronales (patron saint festivals) are held in the central plaza every year.{{cite book |last1=Pariser |first1=Harry S. |title=Explore Puerto Rico, Fifth Edition |date=2003 |publisher=San Francisco: Manatee Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/explorepuertoric0000pari/page/52 52]–55 |url=https://archive.org/details/explorepuertoric0000pari |url-access=registration |accessdate=10 February 2019}}
The central plaza and its church
The central plaza, or square, is a place for official and unofficial recreational events and a place where people can gather and socialize from dusk to dawn. The Laws of the Indies, Spanish law, which regulated life in Puerto Rico in the early 19th century, stated the plaza's purpose was for "the parties" (celebrations, festivities) ({{langx|es|a propósito para las fiestas}}), and that the square should be proportionally large enough for the number of neighbors ({{langx|es|grandeza proporcionada al
número de vecinos}}). These Spanish regulations also stated that the streets nearby should be comfortable portals for passersby, protecting them from the elements: sun and rain.{{cite book|jstor=j.ctvbcd2vs.12|title=Mirada al Caribe|first=Luis A.|last=Santullano|chapter=La Plaza y la Calle |date=10 March 2019|publisher=Colegio de Mexico|volume=54|pages=75–78|doi=10.2307/j.ctvbcd2vs.12}}
Located across the central plaza in San Germán barrio-pueblo is the {{lang|es|Iglesia San Germán de Auxerre}}, a Roman Catholic church.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=64000741}} |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Thematic Nomination: Historic Churches of Puerto Rico|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=June 5, 2023|author=Marisa Gomez and Ester Cardona |date=July 1984}}{{cite book | first=José A. | last=Mari Mut | title=Los Pueblos de Puerto Rico y Las Iglesias de Sus Plazas [The Pueblos of Puerto Rico, and the Churches of its Plazas] | date=2013-08-28 | url=http://edicionesdigitales.info/PueblosPR/pueblospr.pdf | language=es | access-date=2021-09-16 | archive-date=2020-12-14 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214203116/http://edicionesdigitales.info/PueblosPR/pueblospr.pdf | url-status=live}}
History
San Germán barrio-pueblo was in Spain's gazetteers{{cite web | title=Anuario del comercio, de la industria, de la magistratura y de la administración. 1881 | website=Biblioteca Nacional de España | url=https://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/hd/es/viewer?id=9047075f-3c7e-411c-9e1e-41a2f650e1ba&page=1587 | language=es |page=1614| access-date=4 April 2023}} until Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became an unincorporated territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Pueblo Central was 1,493, Pueblo Occidental was 821 and Pueblo Oriental was 1,640.{{cite book|author1=Joseph Prentiss Sanger|author2=Henry Gannett|author3=Walter Francis Willcox|title=Informe sobre el censo de Puerto Rico, 1899, United States. War Dept. Porto Rico Census Office|url=https://archive.org/details/informesobreelc00joangoog|year=1900|publisher=Imprenta del gobierno|page=[https://archive.org/details/informesobreelc00joangoog/page/n255 164]| language=es}}
{{US Census population| align= center
| 1900= 3954
| 1910= 4999
| 1920= 5019
| 1930= 5038
| 1940= 6446
| 1950= 8872
| 1960= 7790
| 1970= 0
| 1980= 4520
| 1990= 3802
| 2000= 3307
| 2010= 2660
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census
1899 (shown as 1900){{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/reportoncensusof00unitiala#page/n245/mode/2up|title=Report of the Census of Porto Rico 1899|publisher=War Department Office Director Census of Porto Rico|access-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716033905/https://archive.org/stream/reportoncensusof00unitiala#page/n245/mode/2up|archive-date=July 16, 2017|url-status=live}} 1910-1930{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/00476569ch4.pdf|title=Table 3-Population of Municipalities: 1930 1920 and 1910|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817181600/https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/00476569ch4.pdf|archive-date=August 17, 2017|url-status=live}}
1930-1950{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch12.pdf|title=Table 4-Area and Population of Municipalities Urban and Rural: 1930 to 1950|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830033735/http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/23761117v1ch12.pdf|archive-date=August 30, 2015|url-status=live}} 1980-2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc-3-53-eng.pdf|title=Table 2 Population and Housing Units: 1960 to 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724061852/https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc-3-53-eng.pdf|archive-date=July 24, 2017|url-status=live}} 2010{{cite book|title=Puerto Rico: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts.pdf|url=https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo35934/cph-2-53.pdf|year=2010|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=2019-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220183043/https://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo35934/cph-2-53.pdf|archive-date=2017-02-20|url-status=live}}}}
Gallery
Central Plaza in San Germán barrio-pueblo.jpg|Central Plaza in San Germán barrio-pueblo
San Germán Auxerre.jpg|{{lang|es|Iglesia San Germán de Auxerre}}, a historic church in the pueblo
San Germán, Puerto Rico (02).jpg|San Germán Historic District
San Germán, Puerto Rico (01).jpg|San Germán Historic District
Plaza Santo Domingo, San Germán.jpg|Plaza and City Hall in San Germán
See also
{{Portal|Puerto Rico}}