Departmental History
The department was created by a governmental decree on 8 May 1866, together with Huehuetenango, Izabal and Petén departments. Before this it was known as the Barrio of San Marcos ("District of San Marcos"), which was a part of the department of Quetzaltenango.
In 1902 the eruption of the Santa María volcano in the neighbouring department of Quetzaltenango was responsible for the destruction of the twin towns of San Marcos and San Pedro Sacatepéquez. The towns were rebuilt and in 1935 were joined to form the new municipality of San Marcos La Unión. This new municipality did not last long and the unified municipalities were again split in 1945 with San Marcos remaining the departmental capital.
Read more about this topic: San Marcos Department
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“A man will not need to study history to find out what is best for his own culture.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)