They remember President Hayes in Paraguay

Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th U.S. president, doesn’t get much respect. He’s remembered, if at all, for losing the popular vote in 1876 but winning the presidency through Electoral College maneuvering. That gave rise to his nickname, “Rutherfraud.”

But there’s one place where Hayes stands as a historical heavyweight: in the tiny South American nation of Paraguay.

In fact, an industrial city on the banks of the Paraguay River is named Villa Hayes — Spanish for “Hayesville” — in his honor.

Here’s why: Hayes took office in 1877 in the aftermath of the Triple Alliance War, a conflict that nearly destroyed Paraguay. The country lost huge chunks of territory to victorious Brazil and Argentina. Later, Argentina later tried to claim the Chaco, the vast wilderness region of northern Paraguay.

At the time there was no United Nations or World Court. So the two sides asked the United States to settle the dispute — and President Hayes sided with Paraguay. The decision gave Paraguay 60 percent of its present territory and helped guarantee its survival as a nation, says Maria Teresa Garozzo, director of the Villa Hayes Museum.    

“Hayes is a giant,” Garozzo says. “He is a spectacular, immortal figure for us.”