include Salto Arriba, initially, then later in the 1530s Caguana and Don Alonso. In the 1530s, landowners in the Don Alonso area petitioned the Spanish Crown permission to establish a town in the area but it was never granted.
Once the gold mining era ends toward the end of the 16th century, very little is known about the Utuado region until the early 18th century. According to the Puerto Rican historian Fernando Pic�, the few documents that exist indicate the area was mostly unpopulated and densely forested. On the other hand, he states that Utuado is the municipality with the most caves, that most likely served as dwellings for Indians or runaway slaves.
The agreement to establish the town of Utuado by the 60 families of Arecibo states they purchased the "Hato de Otoao" for 569 pesos and 5 reales from owners Manuel Natal and Felipa Rom�n. It also states their desire to choose where on the land the town center would be located, which indicates the area was not populated yet.
During his visit to the island in 1771, Fray I�igo Abbad y Lasierra states the principal economic activity in the Utuado region was cattle raising, horses and mules. He mentions a small amount of agricultural activity existed but the population only produced enough tobacco and coffee for their own consumption.
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Utuado's population continued to grow as coffee gained in importance and growers saw the need for high altitudes and mountainous terrain to produce the best coffee beans. People not only migrated from the Puerto Rican coastal towns but also from Ireland (Founder Sebastian de Morfi = Sebastian Murphy), Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands of Majorca and Minorca, all seeking the riches that coffee had to offer.
During the late 19th century Utuado experienced an explosive economic growth centered around the cultivation of coffee, also known at the time as oro negro or "black gold". By the 1890s Utuado was
