The city of Lebu owes its name to the beautiful river which it is situated along. The city’s history is intertwined with the history of the equally beautiful lower valley and that of the river itself.
Lebu, located on the southern river bank as you reach the river mouth, is the Araucanía hinterland’s natural exit to the sea. .
It was founded on 8th October 1862 by Coronel Cornelio Saavedra. A solemn ceremony was held during which the first stone was laid in the Varas Fort - the objective was to build a town around the fort which would attract the numerous settlers scattered throughout the River Lebu Valley.
Thus, the city of Lebu was created, a city which would later become the capital of the Province of Arauco, the most legendary of all of the provinces in Chile and the centre of the coal industry in the coastal sector of Araucanía.
The river takes its name from the mapuche word ‘leuvu’, which means river. Leufu was whimsically castilianised by the conqueror to Lebo, Levo, Leubu or Lebú and was considered a natural border separating the untamed Arauco and Tucapel districts. Up until the mid 19th century it represented the borderline of Chilean penetration in the Lafkenche territory.
In 1604, Alonso de Ribera founded the Santa Margarita de Austria Fort in Lebu Valley, below the river and ‘one long league from the sea’.
During the War of Death, fugitive Trinitarian nuns from Concepción took refuge in Lebu’s forests.
At the same time, Benavides, completely defeated by the patriots in the battle known as Vegas de Saldías, looked for refuge in this vicinity, in the natural caves in the Millaneco area. .
In 1852 the first coal seams were discovered in the river mouth and along its immediate banks. As a result of this, important mining activity commenced in the area which later led to the foundation of Lebu’s southern sector, close to the river mouth, and all of this area being officially incorporated into national sovereignty.
The city of Lebu experienced rapid development: in 1869 it was named capital of the Lebu Area Office and in 1875 capital of the Province of Arauco.
Maps of Chile