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Historical Note: |
At the end of 1860, Quemchi was set in native forest and the inhabitants lived mainly on shellfish. The population was a mixture of Huillinco, Chonos and Europeans. In 1870 the first barkentine to anchor in the bay brought the English businessman Edwin H. Landon. Impressed by the beauty of the area and its potential commercial possibilities, he settled on a big block of land purchased from Juan Pablo Tocol. Here he built a house and later the first sawmill in Choen, as well as a store to supply his workers and villagers with provisions. He introduced exotic timbers from North America, Europe and Australia. Thus emerged a port visited by ships of many different nations.
As this harbour was not very secure, it was moved to the more protected waters of Quemchi.
This became quite an important place, where many people established themselves, amongst them Vicente Lobos Toledo from Valparaíso.
Compañía Explotadora de Maderas Valparaíso was formed in Quemchi in 1885, and later became the "Sociedad Nacional de Bosques y Maderas", with affiliated companies in Quemchi, Calbuco and Maullín, and with an agent in Ancud.
Compañía de Electricidad was formed in Quemchi in 1925 by Don Vicente Lobos T. and Don Antonio Scholbach and supplied the port with electric power.
In1881 Don Luis Martiniano Rodríguez was appointed Governor of Chiloé. He signed the declaration recognising Quemchi and its environs as an administrative area of the republic.
The timber company Pi-Castolpi was founded in 1940 when the Spaniard don Antonio Pi Campani, bought a thousand hectares of virgin forest in the Ancud area. With employment a strong community emerged.
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