Curic� was founded in 1743 by Jose Manso de Velasco during the Spanish reign in the Americas (see Captaincy General of Chile). It is one of the more cultured and progressive provincial towns of Chile.
In 1747, Governor Domingo Ortiz de Rozas decided to move it about 5 km (3 mi) to the north, where it is now located, because of the humidity in its original location.
The oldest and most valuable building of the city is La Iglesia San Francisco (San Francisco's Church), built in 1734, and came to its current location in 1759.
Curic� gained the title of "city" in 1830.
The city's hero is Luis Cruz Mart�nez, a Chilean soldier from the War of the Pacific, who died in 1882 in Per�.
The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1928 and rebuilt during the following year.
Today, Curic� is a center of communication, supply and commercial transactions of neighboring agricultural industries, making it an attractive and buoyant commercial center.
The city was badly damaged in the February 2010 earthquake. An Argentine Air Force Mobile Field Hospital, similar to the one deployed in Haiti was deployed to the city and remained on site until September
