Foundation of the town
"The invasions of the Indians were the cause of the foundation of populational nuclei to defend. In the year 1714 a great invasion punished the cities of Arrecifes and San Antonio de Areco (not yet constituted as nowadays). According to the tradition, the residents to be free of the malones they made vote or promise of building a Church in honor of San Antonio. As the Saint grants them the grace they began to complete the promise in the Oratory.
With the past of time it was growing the population and with her the growth of the cult, so it being needed the presence of a Chaplain. According to information that figure in the File of Nuestra Señora de la Merced, Buenos Aires, the designated Chaplain was don Roque Ximenez. Regarding this Priest, in 1718 he was in charge like interim of the Church of Luján and there he was during two years and later he moved to the Pago de Areco.
Always with the religious attendance of the priest Ximenez, from the Oratory he moved to the Church, the one that it had begun to build in the 20´s decade.
In the year 1728 don José Ruiz de Arellano, their wife doña Rosa de Giles and Monsalvo made complete the construction of a Church that they put low the invocation of San Antonio de Padua.
The Ecclesiastical Town council solved, by means of the 23th of October of 1730 agreement, the creation of the first six campaign parishes that were the following ones:
-Pago de Magdalena, Quilmes
-Pago de Matanza, Merlo
-Pago de la Costa, San Isidro
-Pago de Lujan, Luján
-Pago de Areco, San Antonio
-Pago de Arrecifes, Baradero
As illustrative fact we will transcribe the part corresponding to San Antonio whose testimony is conserved in the parochial file: "The fifth Rectory is erected in the Pago de Areco with the whole territory that understands one and another part of its river, likewise the districts of La Pesquería and Cañada de la Cruz of one and another band and the parishioners that it contains this district with the expressed attachés, they consist in the reason signed by the Teacher P. Don Roque Ximenez and he is assigned for the time to this Rectory by Interim Parish San Antonio's Chapel that is in the one referred Pago, so it is consigned to their owner in fee or in their defect they make it own the parishioners."
Although the definitive approval of the creation of the Parish of the Pago de Areco from the civil authority was verified by Real Identification of the 23th of December of 1731, the date of the 23th of October of 1730, for the transcendency that it means the recognition of a stable nucleus of neighbors of San Antonio de Areco, it is the one that is has been taken like reference to establish "The Foundation of the town."
The first Cure Vicar of the splendid Parish was their old Chaplain, D. Roque Ximénez who carried out in the position until his death, happened at the end of 1746.
"He was replaced by Cristóbal de Oiles, the founders' nephew, who takes possession the 27th of October of 1747, developing their mission during almost ten years, until the day of his death, as it consists in the Record N° 26 of funerals, to coots 3 and turn. It was buried in the Church the 28th of February of 1757" (This last information was extracted of "Tourism course").
The 17th of July of 1750, don José Ruiz de Arellano documented the donation of 1.000 front sticks on the river for 9.000 background sticks so that with the sale of
places, lots and rooms of lots assisted to the extension of the Sanctuary. This donation was made it by means of being able to negotiated to the, in those days, third Chaplain of the Chapel, d. Cristóbal de Giles, their nephew.
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