Museo Regional Molino Andes (SPA-ENG)

Andes Mill Regional Museum

I once read something that left an indelible mark on my spirit: "No one loves what they don't know." This is an excellent summary of what history means.

For some reason I don't fully understand, I've always been drawn to history, not so much the kind that narrates the relevant events of our homeland's heroes, the colonial voyages, or the adventures of Europe, nor the ancient Greeks and Romans. However, at one time, that fascinated me as well.

I'm passionate about local memories, those that allow us to get to know people, the minimal histories. I like to dissect the past into small stories, narratives of particular situations, and legends. It's there, by piecing together the pieces, that I find the greatest meaning in what forges a nation as such.

Trevelin is a small town in Andean Patagonia. Once merely a settlement, it later became a village, reaching the present, still safe from the conditions imposed by large cities.

The bucolic town was born thanks to the Welsh immigration that had arrived in our country a few years earlier, forming their first settlements on the Argentine coast. Their adventurous spirit and the need for more suitable land for cultivation made it possible for the settlers to quickly discover that the Andes Mountains contained much more fertile areas and wonderful landscapes. Accompanied and guided by local indigenous people, they carried out various explorations until they finally found the paradise they called the 16th of October Valley, where they settled and formed the town we are discussing.

In that place, they took root and integrated with the native peoples in an unexpected, yet logical, elemental symbiosis. There, they formed their homes and stories, much of which can be best appreciated at the Museo Regional Molino Andes.

The imposing museum building is located a few blocks from the town center, whose epicenter is Plaza Coronel Fontana, like everything else, has its history.

The building that now houses the exhibition turned 107 years old a few days ago. According to available information, it was built and founded by John Daniel Evans, one of the most prominent Welsh immigrants in his community.

The establishment arose in response to the need for a functional space for milling wheat, which at the time was the primary source of employment, income, and food for the entire region in general, and Trevelin and its surrounding areas in particular.

The coat of arms of Chubut, the province in which the 16 de Octubre Valley is located, is the only one of Argentina's 24 provincial coats of arms with an ear of wheat drawn in its center. Paradoxically, today, this province is not among the leading producers of this precious grain in the country. The reason? Politics and politicians, but that's another story.

Since its construction, it has not only been where wheat was stored and milled, but also, due to its size and functionality, a meeting center where vital decisions were made regarding the functioning and administration of the entire community.

Over time, pressure from the country's central region caused Chubut to abandon wheat planting and harvesting, the mill lost its purpose.

All the machinery was sold around 1958, and the building fell into disrepair. To make matters worse, a massive fire in 1972 left it entirely in ruins. However, the spirit of the community rescued it, converting it in 1985 into the permanent home of the current museum, which had been operating for a few years in a smaller and more uncomfortable building.

A tour of the four floors that make up the exhibition is superb, with spaces reserved for the indigenous peoples, their way of life, art, and clothing. There's also a space to observe Welsh immigration in detail, its pioneers, its people, its ancient tools, and its adaptation to technological advances. Of course, there's a space where you can appreciate the blending of both cultures, the formation of new families, and the descendants of natives and migrants.

The hours pass, and you never stop seeing, reading, or being surprised by some characteristic or object from times gone by. All the texts and explanations are in Spanish, English, and Welsh.

A stunning exhibition, perfectly organized and with top-quality documentation, a testimonial view of how this thriving and enterprising, yet traditionalist, community was formed and evolved, a brief history within a nation's complex and interwoven structure.

A history to discover, learn, and enjoy.