Las Plumas

Las Plumas is a rural community in central Chubut, seat of the Mártires department, on National Route 25 and the banks of the Chubut River, on the way to Los Altares. It has 582 residents (2022 census).

The name

It comes from the Paso de las Plumas (“Feathers Ford”), a crossing on the Chubut River. The Tehuelche left the carcasses of the rheas they hunted there and used the feathers in rituals, so the place was covered in plumes. In 1885 the Welsh settlers called it Dôl y Plu, “meadow of the feathers”.

History

The Welsh soon made contact with the Tehuelche, trading feathers and guanaco meat for bread and butter. The village began as a country store for farmhands and travellers: when the river ran low, carts could ford it, and it became a staging post. Later a bridge was built, which still stands. The historic school was founded on 30 July 1916 and the town was created by Hipólito Yrigoyen’s decree of 11 July 1921. Between 1925 and 1961 the terminus of the Central Chubut Railway operated nearby.

Distances: Central Chubut · National Route 25, on the Chubut River