Fuente-Álamo

Fuente-Álamo is a municipality in Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It lies 61 km (37.9 mi) from the provincial capital and had a population of 2,639 as of 2011.EtymologyAccording to tradition, the name Fuente-Álamo comes from a nearby spring located near a poplar that no longer stands.GeographyFuente-Álamo lies in the southeastern part of Albacete province at 800 m above sea level.HistoryThe first settlers of the area lived in caves in nearby mountains or small, fragile dwellings. Neolithic ruins have been found in Las Colleras, El Mainetico, and El Mainetón neighborhoods. Celtiberian and Roman ruins, in addition to their Neolithic counterparts, have been found on nearby Mount Fortaleza.The first written records of Fuente-Álamo date to 1265, when the site was part of the fiefdom of Alpera and was named for its renowned springs ("Fuentes de Alamo"). In 1269, the area became the village of Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón within the Seigneury of Villena, owned by the family of Manueles de Villena. At that time, Fuente-Álamo became pastureland and saw the first influx of shepherds. The creation of the Marquessate of Villena united Chinchilla and Fuente-Álamo, and they stayed united when the Spanish crown assumed control in 1480, in the wake of a peasant revolt against the marquess Diego López Pacheco y Portocarrero.