Museum of Pioneers

The inhabitants of the City of Río Gallegos acknowledge Parisi House as one of the few that have survived the harsh winters and long wind seasons in southern Argentina. At this venue, the Museum of Pioneers invites visitors on a fantastic journey towards the first years of this town.

As we crossed the entrance door, the hard wood floor creaked to our feet but we trusted its firmness preserved for so many years. The construction has an English style, typical of the region, with foundations lying on wooden piles and outside walls made of overlapped pine-tree slates. At the access gallery, we found a wonderful fireplace, an original piece in the building.

A guide led us through the six rooms describing each object, each photograph and each anecdote that pay tribute to those who reached these southern lands and settled down here for good.

Daily items of a family from 1900 delighted our sight: chandeliers, portraits, ancient garments, sewing machines and typewriters, a wood stove and old dinner sets. We could appreciate a room used as a bedroom and all its furniture.

Several important families from Río Gallegos dwelled in this house. The most outstanding is Arthur Fenton's. He was the first doctor in Santa Cruz. His brothers, Víctor and Jorge, also doctors who took part in the social and political life of those days, inhabited this house as well.

Between 1892 and 1897, the Fenton Brothers granted this space to the governor of the territory of Santa Cruz Edelmiro Mayer when he lost his residence at the governmental seat to a fire. Later on, the house was occupied by Roque Parisi and his family. Thus, its present name. Mrs. Parisi would allow southern countrymen to camp in an area of the backyard in search for shelter.

Even though the construction date is estimated to be 1890, it has been proved that its old woods have immortalized the initials of the men who put it up: Greenshilds, Redman and Woodman, who made up a cattle society back in those days.

The municipality of Río Gallegos recovered the oldest standing house in town, organized the museum and opened it for us to have a look at the life of the pioneers through the items their families have loaned.