# History El Cayo and Santa Elena were established in the mid 1860s as a baccadier or logging camp. Before 1949 the only access to the two towns was by boat up the [[waterway:20]] or in the later years by plane. There was an airfield where the Macal River Park is now located. In 1881 the Western District (now Cayo) was formed and El Cayo was made the capital.https://www.sisetc.gov.bz/history.php In the 1930s the construction of the Cayo Road was initiated, and by the 1940s the road had reached the twin villages. In 1949 the [[bridge:25]] was constructed, joining the two villages together. Thereafter the river traffic dried up and goods were hauled over the road from [[settlement:12]]. In the 1980s the Western Highway was paved. ## Boundaries 1978 - S.I. No. 47 Town boundaries defined.https://elections.gov.bz/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Chapter-87S-Town-Councils-Act-Subsidiary-Act.pdf 1981, October 20 - New town boundaries defined with a total area of 33.64 sq. km.https://elections.gov.bz/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Chapter-87S-Town-Councils-Act-Subsidiary-Act.pdf 2025, April 1 - all cities and towns in Belize had their boundaries updated. [[settlement:274]] gave up some land to [[settlement:74]] on the east side of the [[waterway:170]] and some borders in the [[settlement:426]] area were slightly redefined. Meanwhile [[settlement:230]] gave up land to [[settlement:36]] and gained some land on the south west along the [[road:7]]. In total the area was reduced by 2.3 sq km to 31.34 sq km. # Etymology Father Andrew Bavastro S. J., a Catholic priest, named the area **San Ignacio** in 1870. But in 1881 the Cayo District was established and the village was gradually renamed to **El Cayo**. In the past a creek ran between the [[waterway:170]] and [[waterway:197]] one mile west of [[settlement:230]]. This creek fulfilled the definition of an island (cayo in spanish).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ignacio,_Belize On October 19, 1904 El Cayo was officially declared a town as **El Cayo Town**.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ignacio,_Belize El Cayo was renamed in 1960 to **The Twin Towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena** by the new mayor Hector Silva.https://ambergriscaye.com/photogallery/180404.html