San José Colony was inhabited by the first immigrants in 1857.

They were from Italian or swiss origin. They dedicated to the agriculture and to the cattle raising, the transfer towards the port became necessary.

When the population grew the General Urquiza ordered the town foundation. After some disputes, on April 12th 1863, the fundamental stone was placed.

It is told that many years ago, there was a brave lumberjack who lived there with her beautiful daughter that helped him with the field tasks. He was very jelous and he didn't want that nobody spoke to her. One afternoon when the girl was resting at the door of her house, a foreigner passed along and looked at her intensely, a few nights later, she listened to a ballad, and she realized it was dedicated to her. She went to the window and saw her father with a "facón" in his hands looking for the intruder, but the gallop of a horse tranquilized her. She suffered quite a lot because her father had told her that she had to get married with a neighbor who was rather old but very rich. She didn't like him. She was constantly thinking of getting free and she remembered the outsider. She went to Santa Ines' Grotto to pray and ask for a miracle "Save me my Virgin" she said, and she made her a present, a golden chain that had been given her by the man who wanted to marry her.

Meanwhile, the outsider who rode a beautiful white horse was looking for her, taking with him 2 flowers for her braids and two coconuts bags. He arrived at her window, she saw him, and they left the place together. But her father saw them, so he rode his horse and tried to follow them. He took the "facón" with him.

But her father saw them, so he rode his horse and tried to follow them. He took the "facón" with him. The couple's white horse flew, but in that wild race the coconuts were falling down, and the horses' horseshoes were digging them in the land while her father was following them. Dawn arrived and the pursuer was very angry from rage because he had lost his daughter's trace. The legend says that a palm grew from each coconut in this way around the years they were become a forest