Rafael León y García explained

Rafael León y García
Order1:	78th
Office1:	Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Term Start1:	1874
Term End1:	1875
Predecessor1:	Pedro Rosalí
Successor1:	Serafín Donderis
Birth Date:	c. 1814
Death Date:	c. 1885
Nationality:	Puerto Rican
Profession:	politician

Rafael León y García, a.k.a., Rafael de León^[1] (c. 1814  - c. 1885), was mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1874 to 1875.^[2]

Mayoral term

León y García is remembered for various accomplishments during his short stay as Mayor of Ponce. He is remembered for issuing, in 1874, a circular describing the urgent need to conserve Puerto Rico’s forests to avoid ruining the island's agriculture. Only 9700 hectares (23,969 acres) of heavily timbered forest remained in the Luquillo Forest at the time.^[3] Closer to his hometown of Ponce, he is also remembered for spearheading, on 20 May 1874, the project that would eventually result in the construction of the Acueducto de Ponce.^[4]

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans
• List of mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico

References

1. Socorro Giron. Ponce, el teatro La Perla, y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 1992. p. 171.
2. http://www.visitponce.com/alcaldes.aspx Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Alcaldes.
3. http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/elyunque/about-forest/?cid=fsbdev3_042983 El Yunque National Forest: Centennial Timeline Summary.
4. Socorro Giron. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de La Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 1992. pp.171, 172. (Citing Lidio Cruz Monclova's Historia de Puerto Rico, Tomo II, pp. 871, 872.)

Further reading

• Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 204. Item 1051.
• Alcalde Rafael Leon y Garcia, Villa de Ponce. Villa de Ponce: Datos estadísticos de 1874. (microfilm) Ponce, Puerto Rico. 1874? (UPR-microfilm).
• Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 335. Item 1667.
• Villa de Ponce. Presupuesto municipal del ilustre Ayuntamiento de la Villa de Ponce para el año económico de 1874 a 1875. Ponce, Puerto Rico: H. Lara -- Imprenta Nueva, 1874. (Biblioteca del Congreso (Washington, D.C.; Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce, CUTPO [fotocopia])