The Historical Museum of Yerbas Buenas is housed in a preserved, colonial building that is not only one of the oldest surviving in the town and province but also a silent witness of the dawn of Chile's independence. This was the house where the Spanish brigadier Antonio Pareja, commander of the royalist army, stayed on the night of April 26, 1813, the eve of the first significant military encounter between the royalist and the patriot armies in the independence struggle of Chile. Colonel Juan de Dios Puga, commander of the patriot force, was killed in the battle as was one third of his army. This building became a National Historic Monument on August 22, 1984 and the sector of the town around the building has been declared a "Typical Zone" ("Zona típica").