General José de San Martín is a city in the north-east of the province of Chaco, Argentina.

The town was founded under the name of El Zapallar on 25 April 1907, although the measurement and division of the terrain was not properly finished until 2 July 1913.

Its progress was slow due to the lack of communications, which began only in 1917 when Juan Godoy opened a precarious bus line that linked El Zapallar with the provincial capital Resistencia, 120 km away.

It had a police station, a court, a civil registration, a social club, and mail and telegraph services.

In 1934 the town was turned into a municipality, which was renamed General José de San Martín in 1955.