This city was founded on 1699, although their génesis is previous. In 1578 the advice of Havana mercedó to Francisco de Rojas a denominated savannah Feo River, together to the cattle ranch of Red Alonso, Marquess of San Felipe and Santiago. Five months later, another donation of same earth, with different name, to Gaspar Hernandez. Failed to fulfill by both the conditions of the contract, the city council of Havana came to a defining from those earth, designating them with the names of Pinar del Rio, Taironas and San Mateo, doing of them new object of Mercedes. After the changes, exchanges and transactions, finished between different proprietors in 1719. But already from 1699 the vecindario of Pinar del Rio came forming, with the test the fact that there was priest rendering spiritual services without church in the party of San Rosendo and who baptized the 2 of August of that year to a young son of natural ones of Jamaica.

In 1710 the first hermitage in the corral of Pinar del Rio rose, under the invocation of San Rosendo, date that has decided to some historians like the one of the foundation of this city. Even though neither the one of 1699 nor the one of 1710 they are those that determined the promotion of their population, in 1773 the commander in chief Don Felipe Fonsdeviela, before the necessity to create nucleus that served as head earth from which it possibly got to be the province and that or enjoyed being excellent for the culture of the tobacco, it made distribute the first lots to the neighbors of this place. At the same time ordering described sobordinate so that practitioner for this town chose the seat more and fixed the limits of his jurisdiction. He was then, the commander in chief Fonsdeviela the creator of the city and was also in his honor that put the New name to him of Philippine, of his patronimico.

In 1776 it was fixed the residence of the governing lieutenant to the same site that began to fill in 1699, in a plain on the foot of the Mountain range of the Organos and to the border of the Guamá river, that is the property Pinar del Rio whose name came to him to be based next to a great pine. Under so favorable auspices the foundation volume wings even though suffered of the excursions of some Indians who had managed to save to the extinction of their race fleeing to the Mountain range of the Organos and against which later the captain Marquess of Someruelos gave mandate to exterminate consequences of murders by committed them, perhaps in defense of its natural rights.

In 1834 the building of post office settled down, in 1836 a school of first letters, in 1838 a theater, 1839 the cemetery, 1841 the steam company of Bustamante and Compañi'a, in 1843 a public clock, a definitive theater and a tree-lined avenue for recreation of the inhabitants. The city council was created in 1859 and granted category of Villa. In 1867 City was declared. In 1853 the population had 1.418 people, distributed in 365 houses.

It continued the advance of this city and at the beginning of the decade of 1940 already the Institute of the Second Education, the Normal School of Teachers, Professional School of Commerce, tobacco newspapers, aqueduct and an important commerce were a reality with all the required companies to provide the appropriate endorsement to him.

During the war of Independence the neighborhoods of the city saw numerous actions, some of important them, like the one of Taironas, in whose place the city council of Pinar del Rio erected in 1907 a commemorative monument.