The Historical Regional Museum of Villa La Angostura

A beautiful construction where the first power station in the town used to operate, according to what we learned afterwards, houses the Historical Regional Museum in Villa La Angostura. The building lies a few meters away from the Village chapel, close to Bahía Mansa (Quiet Bay), at 2177, Nahuel Huapi Boulevard.

An essential feature at this museum is that it was built by the effort and with donations by the community itself. The Capraro, Matías, Colletti, Diem, Avila, Monsalve, Martinez, Martín, Muhlenpfordt and other families donated most of the pieces displayed in the venue.

The tour starts, of course, with the native dwellers of the region. Various historical elements give proof of their presence in the area and in turn provide an approach to their customs and culture.

One particularly interesting piece is the one-piece canoe shown at the museum. This canoe is an example of how the first inhabitants of the area would move across the lake. This item was spotted by Mr. Rodríguez and rescued by a SCUBA diver from Bariloche, Mr. Antonio Margaride, at the channel that separates Menéndez Island from the lakeshore.

Following the passing of time, we found historical documents related to the second stage of the Desert Campaign. It was in charge of General C. Villegas, who entered into negotiations with chief Inacayal when the Mapuche nation still occupied the territories ranging from Neuquén to Santa Cruz.

Other documents reflect the beginnings of the new settlements in the region, which took place later on. In particular, we could appreciate the testimonies of the activities performed by the National Parks Administration in the entire region and the creation of the first Neighbors’ Committee in Villa La Angostura, by 1945.

A machete used to make cypress tiles and a sawmill machine give proof of the typical woodworks in the early times of this settlement, known today as Villa La Angostura.