The city was founded on October 14 , 1889 , by Jesús María Ocampo , also known as " Tigrero " ( translates to " tiger killer " ) due to his love of hunting jaguars , known locally as tigers . Ocampo came from Anaime , Tolima , looking for shelter in the mountains of Quindío because he was running away from General Gallo . He paid one hundred pesos in gold coins to Antonio Herrera for the land on which to build a fonda , or trade center , not only for himself but also for other colonists who came from Salento , Antioquia , Manizales , and areas surrounding the Quindío River and La Vieja River . Ocampo then proceeded to sell land for settlement . To encourage settlement , Ocampo returned to Anaime to ask for the help of his friend Juan de la Cruz Cardona and to marry thirteen-year-old Arsenia Cardona . Six months after its founding , in August 1890 , Armenia had reached a population of 100 people , allowing it to gain legal recognition by the government . In the founding meeting of the city , on October 14 , 1889 , the name of Villa Holguín was suggested , in honor of Carlos Holguín Mallarino , the then-current president of the country . However , the proposal was rejected , and the name Armenia was put to a vote and approved on November 30 , 1889 . . Therefore , the belief that the name was changed to Armenia after the country of the same name , in memory of the Armenian people murdered by the Turkish Ottomans in the Hamidian Massacres of 1894 – 97 and later the Armenian Genocide of 1915 – 23 is totally unsubstantiated . Despite Armenia 's quickly expanding economy at the time , the means of transport were still very limited . The main form of transporting people and merchandise was by mule , due to the mountainous terrain surrounding the city . It was not until the construction of the first asphalt road — in 1927 to Zarzal in the Department of Valle del Cauca — that transport was improved
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Armenia, Colombia