History
San Mateo originated from the construction of a road between Cartago, through Esparza, to Caldera, built around 1700. Its greatest development period was due to the development of an ox-cart trail between San José and Puntarenas in 1867. The name, San Mateo, comes from the chapel built there in 1859.
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General Description
The canton is one of the least populated in the country and is comprised of many small haciendas whose owners live in the capital. The Damas Bridge over the Río Jesús María near Esparza is considered a historical landmark. The canton is drained by the Machuca, Aguagria, Surubres and Jesús Rivers. The canton produces rice, corn, beans, sugar cane and a large variety of fruits. It has produced fine woods such as cedar, pochote, guachipelín, madera negra but much of the good wood has been over-forested and left depleated.
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Places of Interest
The town of San Mateo is 254 m above sea level and is linked to San Ramón, Orotina, and Esparza cantons by good roads. In the northwest part of the canton, is the Aguacate gold mine.
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Canton No. 4: San Mateo
District 1: San Mateo
