BAYAMN

town, northeastern Puerto Rico, part of the metropolitan area of San Juan, 10 miles (16 km) northeast. Puerto Rico's first settlement, Caparra, was founded in the area in 1508 by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Len. Bayamn was established as a town in 1772. It manufactures clothing, furniture, automotive parts, metal products, firearms, household goods, and food products. Bayamn Central University was founded in 1970, and the town has a regional college of the University of Puerto Rico. It is linked to San Juan by a freeway and is on the main highway to Arecibo. The statesman Jos Celso Barbosa (1857-1921) was born there. Pop. (1990) 220,262; (1995 est.) 231,334.