History
The town was originally founded as 'Villa Independencia' by Decree of 16 April 1859. It became capital of the Department of Río Negro on 7 July 1860 by the Act of Ley Nº 1.475 and its status was elevated to "Ciudad" (city) on 16 July 1900 by the Act of Ley Nº 2.656. Its current name, meaning "Friar Benedict", is derived from a reclusive priest.
Historically, Fray Bentos' main industry has been meat processing. An industrial plant owned by the Societe de Fray Bentos Giebert & Cie., the Liebig Extract of Meat Company, was founded here in 1863. It was closed in 1979, after 117 years in operation. A local history museum opened on the site in March 2005.
Fray Bentos was the location of the tragic accident of Austral Flight 2553, where 74 people were killed (69 passengers and 5 crew) on October 10, 1997.
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