Cayey was founded on August 17, 1773, by Juan Mata Vázquez, who became its first mayor. It is popularly said that Cayey derives its name from the
Taíno word for "a place of waters". It was named in honor of
Miguel de Muesas, the then governor of Puerto Rico. The town is located in a valley nestled between Puerto Rico's
Cordillera Central mountain range and the
Sierra de Cayey at roughly the midpoint of routes
PR-1 and
PR-52. The routes lead to a popular drive that provides panoramic views of the island from its highest points. Puerto Rico was ceded by
Spain in the aftermath of the
Spanish–American War under the terms of the
Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the
United States. In 1899, the
United States Department of War conducted a
census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Cayey was 14,442. An education base began in the early to mid-1950s when the
Interamerican University opened a branch in Cayey providing teacher training through a night class scheme. In 1967 the
University of Puerto Rico opened a campus in the former
Henry Barracks Military Reservation, and in the early 1980s
El Turabo University, subsidiary of the Ana G. Mendez conglomerate opened a campus in the old tobacco factory at the entrance of town. The Interamerican University will be opening a Graduate campus in front of the main town square (
downtown), and there are conversations with a foreign educational concern to open a technology campus using the buildings left over by the Gordonshire Knitting Mills. There are three major private schools: Radians School, the long established Colegio de Nuestra Senora de la Merced and La Milagrosa School. Cayey's health care base expanded in the mid-1960s with the
Mennonite Medical Center and a Municipal Hospital along with laboratories, and urgent care centers that cater to the poor and the elderly. With the construction of the Interstate (
PR-52), Cayey has evolved into a "
bedroom community" with gated housing developments, located just 30 minutes from
San Juan and 45 minutes away from
Ponce. With pleasant weather and good private schools, Cayey has become a prime location for the affluent.
Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Cayey with significant amount of rain and wind. The hurricane destroyed 3,000 homes in Cayey. File:Puerto Rico National Guard (37420248312).jpg|National Guard in Cayey after Hurricane Maria File:Lt. Colin A. Roberts speaks with local civilian employees during an assessment of Centro Medico Menonita de Cayey Hospital’s medical. (37451604851).jpg|Mennonite hospital in Cayey File:Damaged structure over a basketball court in Cayey, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.jpg|Damaged basketball court File:Map of landslides in Puerto Rico - Hurricane Maria 2017.jpg|Map of landslides in Puerto Rico
Impact of Henry Barracks Military Reservation Henry Barracks Military Reservation was a lifeline for the residents of Cayey from 1901 to 1966, when it was declared excess land and passed to the
General Services Administration for decommission. The property consisted of (). The property was divided into three prominent encampments: the Spanish Camp or Campamento Español (), Camp Henry or Henry Barracks, the Home of the third Battalion of the
65th Inf. Regiment that consisted of , and the Cayey Naval Radio Station ( )). This reservation is situated in the east of the town of Cayey. The Spanish Reservation containing an area of approximately , known as Hospital Hill was set apart by Executive Order of June 30, 1903, under an Act of Congress approved on July 7, 1902. The main army post was located in the northern part of the reservation, initially housing the
Puerto Rico Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The combined posts had approximately 1,200 men who used the resources provided by the town people. Families moved into Punta Brava and Vieques neighborhoods. A laundry, show shop, and other smaller stores were located right outside the gate. By 1906 about 350 civilians had jobs in the two posts (Camp Henry and The Cayey Navy Radio Station). The
U.S. Department of the Navy submitted a proposal to raise three tall masts as part of a global radio communication linkage. In 1916 the Department of the Navy approved a budget of $40,000. At the time 300 men were hired to build the facility for a period of two-year, the project was completed in 1918 On September 11, 1928, a category five hurricane called San Felipe destroyed the temporary buildings at Henry Barracks, and the Navy Radio Station. A radio message was sent from the Cayey Navy Radio Station on September 18, 1928, to follow “All buildings Henry Barracks destroyed by hurricane September 13th”. The Navy left Cayey and moved its station to Isla Grande and Stop 7 in Puerto de Tierra. All the land held by the Navy included Magazine Hill (known in the community as "El Polvorin"), which was taken over by the
U. S. Army. The 65th Infantry Regiment remained in the north side of the post. The south side was converted into two shooting ranges The decision was made to reconstruct all building for the regiment in the north side in concrete One hundred and ninety buildings were completed, to include the north side of Henry Barracks. Over 600 men were hired for a period of three years to work in these projects. During this period three large barrack buildings were constructed. The two one company barracks each had its own mess hall and kitchen and was occupied by an infantry company each. The two companies barrack located in the center of the quad occupied the Battalion Headquarters Co. and the Machine Gun Co. By 1953, the
U.S. Department of the Army had reached the conclusion that Henry Barracks would be closed in the near future. A full complement of maintenance personnel composed of professional, technical, and daily laborers were maintained in the Reservation. The growth of three major housing developments is evidence of the economic impact of the Reservation (Reparto Montellano, El Polvorin, Urbanización Aponte) While the all-Puerto Rican 65th Infantry regiment would never return to its home base, several other initiatives were undertaken, which had a direct impact on the economic development of the town and the region, one such initiatives was the commissioning of the Caribbean Signal Agency in 1959. Over the coming years several tenants occupied the lands comprised by the Henry Barracks Military Reservation, among them: • In the company size building to the west of the quad, the
National Guard had its Officer Training School in 1965 and 1966. It was later moved to
Camp Santiago in
Salinas. The golf course was used as a helicopter landing strip. •
YMCA Cuerpos de Paz, and VESPRA (1965–68) had an Administration Building, a swimming pool, a golf course and three houses, which housed the majors and their families. • The
Encampment for Citizenship held its 1966 six-week encampment in the two-company building in the middle of the quad. One hundred fifty-one young leaders from 56 countries from all over the world meet in Cayey to learn to develop self-government and to perform community development projects. • The Foundation for Community Development moved to the housing is located in the southeastern part of the Post until 1972. Thousands of people received training in community development, and leadership during those years. ==Geography==