Villa Iris

Location

38°10' S 63°15' W

History

Villa Iris was founded on 27 May 1900 by Hugo Stroeder on land that belonged to Federico Álvarez de Toledo.  It was intended to be an urban center of an extensive agricultural and livestock colony of about 56,000 hectares.  Following the speeches on the founding day, a corner stone was laid for St. Bernard.  The church was never constructed.

The first settlers were from Germany and Russia, followed by Spanish, Italian, Danish, Swiss, Uruguayans, Lebanese and Creoles.  In the early 1930s, following several years of drought, Volga German families who had settled earlier in the rural areas of La Pampa and Buenos Aires Provinces north of Villa Iris resettled to towns and villages like Villa Iris in search of work.

Volga German Families

The following Volga German families are known to have settled in Villa Iris:

Amen from Hölzel
Beilmann from Volmer
Dietrich from Volmer
Eberle
Fritz from Preuss
Gallinger from Hildmann
Gerling from Köhler
Ginder / Ginter from Dehler
Gottau from Schuck
Graff from Volmer
Groh from Leichtling
Günther from Dehler
Haag
Haberkorn from Semenovka
Hildmann from Hildmann
Hiperdinger from Hölzel
Holzmann from Preuss
Jakobi
Jungblut from Preuss
Kloberdanz from Kamenka
Kloster from Semenovka
Kollmann from Schuck
Krug
Masson from Dehler
Melchior from Kamenka
Meyer from Kamenka
Ostertag from Volmer
Rollheiser from Husaren
Roppel from Hölzel
Ruppel from Hölzel
Saffenreiter from Preuss
Schächtel from Köhler
Schamber from Degott
Schell from Dehler
Schiebelbein from Husaren
Schmidt from Kamenka
Schneider
Scholl from Dehler
Schwalje from Brabander
Schwenzel from Dehler
Schwerdt from Kamenka
Stadelmann from Schuck
Stang from Volmer
Stoessel from Dehler
Stremel from Kamenka
Trausch
Usseldinger from Preuss
Vogel from Kamenka
Weht from Brabander
Weimann from Kamenka

Volga German Congregation

Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Our Lady of Carmel Catholic Church) is located in Villa Iris (Av San Martín 292).