General Fernández Oro

General Fernández Oro is in the west of the General Roca department, on Provincial Route 65 and the northern bank of the Negro River, in the Alto Valle near Cipolletti. It has 15,788 residents (2022 census). It lives off fruit (apples, pears, peaches and plums), as well as hops and wine.

Things to do

• Lucinda Larrosa Cultural Station Museum: housed since 1999 in the old Roca Railway station, it is regarded as one of Río Negro’s leading museums, with a large collection of Alto Valle farm machinery. It reopened in 2016 as a cultural space with monthly activities.
• The river and canals: the Negro River bank and the irrigation channels fed by the Ingeniero Ballester dam are good places for a walk.

History

The railway station opened in 1928 as “Kilómetro 1181” and on 18 May 1931 was renamed General Fernández Oro, after the officer of the 1879 Conquest of the Desert. The anniversary is celebrated on 19 May (a date set in 1971) and the first local council was created on 29 May 1942. The museum is named after Lucinda González Larrosa, the general’s wife.

Distances: Alto Valle · Provincial Route 65, northern bank of the Negro River