[2] Moengo started as a Maroon village on top of a hill overlooking the Cottica River.

The settlement was later abandoned due to the difficulty of building houses on the bauxite rich ground.

[3] In 1916, Alcoa founded the first bauxite mine in Suriname,[4] and this marks the beginning of the current town.

[1] The 1980s marked a violent period: the Surinamese Interior War had reached Moengo.

Troops from the Jungle Commando captured the town in 1988, and held it for nine months before being recaptured by the National Army in June 1989.

[10] A large portion of the population fled the town, the bauxite mine ceased its operations, and several buildings burned down.

[12] In June 2014, Alcoa announced that the bauxite mine was almost depleted, and wanted to cease operations in Suriname.