[3][4][5] Guardarraya, located where the Cordillera Central mountains meet the Caribbean Sea, in 1765 was known for its agriculture, fishing and production of aromatic oils.

Guardarraya is where the legendary pirate Roberto Cofresí was captured and turned over to authorities.

[6] Guardarraya was in Spain's gazetteers[7] until 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 an unincorporated territory of the United States.

In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Guardarraya barrio was 1,013.

Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions)[14] in turn are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (sectors in English).