Coamo (Spanish pronunciation: [koˈamo], locally [ˈkwamo]) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas.

Archeological digs in the municipality of Coamo have produced extensive evidence of pre-Columbian inhabitants of the area.

At that time, Coamo was the administrative center for a larger area that would eventually be subdivided into several municipalities: Guayama, Cayey, Juana Díaz, Orocovis, Barranquitas, Cidra, Patillas, Aibonito, Santa Isabel, Salinas and Arroyo.

By 1582, there were twenty families living in Coamo, in the same area where the Tainos had had their village of Guayama [citation needed].

As the agricultural and sugar industries grew and became the mainstays of the colony's economy, the province would eventually subdivide into several distinct municipalities, and the administrative center of the region would later shift west to the coastal town of Ponce.

In the early nineteenth century, a system of pools of varying depths, sizes and temperatures was constructed at the site of these springs to serve as a spa for the colonials.

Though the site lay in ruins for most of the twentieth century, it continued to be a landmark to the Coameños, who would often go to bathe in its healing thermal waters.

It has been preserved and incorporated into a fountain courtyard on the grounds of a popular tourist hotel and rest area and has replaced the ancient Spanish ruins.

Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States.

In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Coamo was 15,144.

[19][20] Coamo is an agricultural center where mangoes, corn, guanabanas, tamarindo, quenepas, avocados, oranges and plantains are grown, and where poultry and cattle are raised.

The Fiestas Patronales de San Blas Illescas y La Virgen Candelaria is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment.

The current mayor of Coamo is Juan Carlos García Padilla, of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD).

The heavy border of the coat of arms contains the following figures: two flames; three bell towers with gold bells outlined in red; two red crosses with arms ending in three petals; and a circle with a surface divided by horizontal blue and silver-plated stripes.