The city of Ciego de �vila was founded by 1840, having at the time 263 inhabitants. In 1877, its municipal government was created and the city became independent of the city of Mor�n. Ciego de �vila gained importance when the Spanish army built a fortified military line, known as Trocha de Jucaro a Mor�n, to impede the pass of insurrectionist forces to the western part of the island during the 1st War of Independence (1868-1878). This "trocha", which made this region famous, was thought to be strong enough to stop the Cuban forces, but was not able to stop the pass of General M�ximo G�mez and several hundred of men. Many of the old Spanish colonial buildings in Ciego de �vila were built by Angela Hern�ndez Viuda de Jim�nez, a rich socialite who battled to create a cultural mecca in her home town. She is sometimes credited to be the founder of the city
