Conchillas (, ) is a small industrial town located within the

Colonia Department Colonia () is a department of southwestern Uruguay. Its capital is Colonia del Sacramento, the country's second-oldest city. Geography Climate Colonia has an annual average temperature of 20.4 °C (68.7 °F). In winter it has an averag ...

, in southwestern

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Geography

The town is located on the coast of

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

near the stream Arroyo Conchillas, northwest of

Colonia del Sacramento Colonia del Sacramento (; ) is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is one of the oldest towns in Uruguay and the capital of the Colonia Department. As of the 2023 census, it has a populatio ...

, the capital city of the department, and southeast of Carmelo.

History

Foundation by the Walkers

The town was founded by the English on 24 October 1887. The date is still celebrated locally as 'Walker Day'. It soon became an important place for the exploitation of mineral resources.

Thomas A. Walker Thomas Andrew Walker (15 October 1828 – 25 November 1889) was an English civil engineering contractor. He worked on major infrastructure projects in the latter half of the 19th century, including the Severn Tunnel, the Manchester Ship canal, a ...

was an English

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

contractor who had the contract to construct new docks at

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. No building stone was available nearby to construct the docks and shipping costs by rail were excessive. Walker's solution was a radical one: to construct quarries at Conchillas and to ship the stone across the River Plate to the new dock site. This involved the construction of a whole village, a railway to a loading quay, and a fleet of small ships to carry the stone. Although this would not be the first time that Walker had constructed a new village to support a major construction project, this time he would even create a

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

at one of his earlier villages, Sudbrook in South Wales, in order to build the ships needed. Thomas Walker died in 1889. The contracting business became C.H. Walker & Co., although this inheritance to ensure continuity of the ongoing construction projects was complex and legally unique. His nephew, Charles Hay Walker, moved to Conchillas to supervise the work. The English created a factory, founded two cemeteries, and established an

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Casa Evans

John Evans was a ship's cook on one of the Walker vessels. When the ship was lost in the River Plate, he opened a cantina on the shore, feeding the workers. This was successful and he expanded as a provision merchant. This business grew so well that it became a partnership with Walker & Co., who built a large warehouse and shop, which still survives. As was typical practice for contractors and '

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

s', Evans issued their own currency of tokens, which were widely accepted in the surroundings and recognised as legal tender by the Uruguyan government.History of Conchillas

World War II

However, with the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Conchillas key infrastructure was sold to two Uruguayan entrepreneurs who introduced a series of modifications. Today, the English influence that resulted from the arrival of numerous European settlers is mainly evident in the architecture of Conchillas rather than in the way of life of its inhabitants.

Post-war

On 21 December 1955, the status of the localities known as "Conchillas y Gil" was elevated to "Pueblo" (village) under the common name "Conchillas" by the Act of Nº Ley 12.254.

Population

According to the 2011 census, Conchillas had a population of 756. Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay''
* In the 2011 census the population of the Pueblo Gil censual area (309 inh.) was counted separately from Conchillas.

References

External links

Article on Conchillas at clarin.com

INE map of Conchillas and Pueblo Gil
{{Authority control British diaspora in Uruguay Populated places in the Colonia Department