Porto Rico has more than seventy towns and cities, of which Ponce is the most important.  Ponce has 22,000 inhabitants, with a jurisdiction numbering 47,000.  It is situated on the south coast of the island, on a plain, about 2 miles from the seaboard.  It is the chief town of the judicial district of its name, and is 70 miles from San Juan.  It is regularly built, the central part almost exclusively of brick houses, and the suburbs of wood.  It is the residence of the military commander, and the seat of an official chamber of commerce.  There is an appellate criminal court, besides other courts; 2 churches, one Protestant, said to be the only one in the Spanish West, Indies; 2 hospitals besides the military hospital, a home of refuge for old and poor, 2 cemeteries, 3 asylums, several casinos, 3 theaters, a market, a municipal public library, 3 first-class hotels, 3 barracks, a park, gas works, a perfectly equipped fire department, a bank, thermal and natural baths, etc.  Commercially, Ponce is the second city of importance on the island.  A fine road leads to the port (Playa), where all the import and export trade is transacted.  Playa has about 5,000 inhabitants, and here are situated the custom house, the office of the captain of the port, and all the consular offices.  The port is spacious and will hold vessels of 25 feet draft.  The climate, on account of the sea breezes during the day and land breezes at night, is not oppressive, but very hot and dry; and, as water for all purposes, including the fire department, is amply supplied by an aqueduct 4,442 yards long, it is said that the city of Ponce is perhaps the healthiest place in the whole island.  There is a stage coach to San Juan, Mayaguez, Guayama, etc.  There is a railroad to Yauco, a post office, and a telegraph station.

It is believed that Ponce was founded in 1600; it was given the title of villa in 1848, and in 1877 that of city.  Of its 34 streets the best are Mayor, Salud, Villa, Vives, Marina, and Comercio.  The best squares are Principal and Las Delicias, which are separated by the church of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe.  The church, as old as the town itself, began to be reconstructed in 1838 and was finished in 1847.  It is 86 yards long by 43 broad, and has two steeples, rich altars, and fine ornaments.

The theater is called the Pearl, and it deserves this name, for it is the finest on the island.  It has a sculptured porch, on the Byzantine order, with very graceful columns.  It is mostly built of iron and marble and cost over 70,000 pesos.  It is 52 yards deep by 29 wide.  The inside is beautiful, the boxes and seats roomy and nicely decorated.  It may, by a mechanical arrangement, be converted into a dancing hall.

About 1 1/8 miles northeast of the town are the Quintana thermal baths, in a building surrounded by pretty gardens.  They are visited by sufferers from rheumatism and various other diseases.