During the events that led to the
Independence of Paraguay, Captain Blás José Roxas de Aranda was in Pilar with a contingent of men to prevent the governor-intendant
Bernardo de Velasco from escaping from the province by ship. After independence, during
Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia's dictatorship, the Port of Pilar was the only one authorized in all of Paraguay for foreign trade, mainly the sale of
yerba mate. During the
Paraguayan War, two battles took place in then Villa del Pilar, the
Battle of Pilar on September 20, 1867, between superior Brazilian forces and a small Paraguayan garrison, later reinforced by Solano López' personal guard under Felipe Toledo; and a skirmish on October 27 of the same year, in the middle of the town, which led to its occupation by Brazilian forces. Years after the war, when the Brazilians left the country in 1876, the bell tower of the current Minor Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Pilar rang its bells for several hours, in order to mark this historical fact. On January 25, 1908, the town was elevated from Villa to city of Pilar. In 1930 Paolo Federico Alberzoni built a textile complex, the current Manufactura de Pilar SA. Later he expanded his plant to provide electricity to the city. In the
Paraguayan civil war of 1947, Pilar and
Concepción were the two largest cities to fall to the rebels. For many years, until the government of
Alfredo Stroessner, the Port of Pilar was the most important in the south, and an entry port to the country. In 1983 a flood occurred that left practically the entire city under water. To protect it from future floods, the city has a system of retaining walls, locks and pumping plants. The walls make up the Costanera de Pilar. In 2000, the paving of
Route 4, was completed; since then the city was no longer isolated from the country due to rain.
Route 19, which connects Pilar to
Villeta, is also paved. The
Paraguayan Army's Cavalry Regiment No. 2, Colonel Felipe Toledo (RC2), is based in the city. ==Geography==