Santa Rosa, Puán Partido, Buenos Aires Province

In 1895, a group of Volga German colonists bought 3,000 hectares in the Puán Partido (Section) of Buenos Aires Province, and in 1902, the colony was Santa Rosa was officially founded. According to the municipal record of deeds, the first land owners were:

Joseph (José) Gottau
Lorenz (Lorenzo) Sieben
Georg (Jorge) Meier
Martin (Martín) Sieben
Andreas (Andrés) Bender
Joseph (José) Distel
Joseph (José) Walter (son)
Katharina Barbara (Catalina Bárbara) Giperdinger
Roppel      

Later, the families Faath, Wehitt, Wertmiller, Gottfriedt, Schmidt, Neumann, Feitt, and Roppel settled in the zone.

During the life of the little village, Santa Rosa had three churches: the most important one was completely destroyed (with the parish records) by a lightning strike that caused a fire on Good Friday in 1943. The last church, which was very simple, was demolished and its materials used in building the monastery of Santa Clara, in the city of Puán.

Burials in the cemetery of Santa Rosa:

(Date d/m/y – Name)
09/11/1908 - Georg Brost
13/02/1914 – A.M.Gottau
27/07/1914 – Francisco Gottau
17/09/1914 – Eva Selvat de Colman
01/07/1916 – Juan Zink
07/08/1916 – Elvira Distel
17/07/1916 – Rosalía Gottau
12/05/1916 – Lorenzo Gottau
23/10/1916 – Cornelia Sieben
25/04/1918 – N.Wehitt
06/06/1918 – Marcelino Schmidt
06/09/1918 – Matías Kamlosky
16/10/1919 – Victoria M. Wehitt
10/11/1919 – Pedro Schmidt
21/11/1920 – N.Fay
10/11/1921 – Jorge Bender (son)
06/03/1923 – N.Walter
20/05/1925 – Juan Walter (son)
05/12/1925 – Margarita Kolman de Feitt
07/05/1929 – Eusebio Adam Gotttau
16/12/1931 – Elisa Gottau de Sieben
26/09/1933 – Lorenzo Sieben
24/03/1933 – Albino Manuel Gottau
08/05/1935 – Norberto Gottau
21/05/1935 – Jacobo Feitt
07/08/1939 – Santiago Sieben
15/06/1944 – Aurelio Feitt

The first elementary school began in 1909, and a newer school that was built in 1949, was demolished in the 1960's because the families moved to nearby towns. The town was abandoned. At present, many descendants of Santa Rosa live in Puán, Darregueira, and Pigüé.

In 2002, a group of people, inspired by two young siblings, Jorgelina and Ariel Walter, began to the hard work of restoring parts of the abandoned town. With very little money and great enthusiasm, they cut the grass, painted, repaired, organized conferences, researched the history of the village, founded a small museum and every year, on August 30th (day of Saint Rose), they organize a Mass and the Kerb (the patron saint's day, as celebrated in Russia) with the older people and other Volga German descendants.

That year (2002) the abandoned Volga German colony was declared “Cultural Property” by the municipality of the zone.