[3][4][5] Piletas was in Spain's gazetteers[6] 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 Piletas barrio was 2,455.

In 2017, as Puerto Rico and Lares continued to struggle economically, community leaders decided that unused public schools, including one in Piletas Arce (on Puerto Rico Highway 129), would be used by the agricultural industry of Lares.

[13] La Piramide de Piletas Restaurant, located in Sector Las Lajas, was featured by the Puerto Rico Department of Tourism Discover Puerto Rico campaign.

[14] Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions)[15] and subbarrios,[16] in turn, are further subdivided into smaller local populated place areas/units called sectores (sectors in English).