There are signs of Carpetani, Visigoth, Roman, Iberian or Arab civilisations in the areas around Arroyo de Butarque (Mora Estate) and around Arroyo Culebro, near the former settlement and Mayorazgo de Polvoranca.
Owing to the epidemics of the time, around 1280 the settlers in these places moved to high, cleaner ground where there was an abundant water supply nearby. The first documents mentioning the Legamar settlement date back to the 13th century in the middle of the Reconquest period.
Some historians hold that the names Leganés and Leganitos are from the Arabic words algannet or alganit, meaning “vegetable gardens” or “of the vegetable gardens”.
It was an agricultural area until the 60’s home to many farms. A lot of cucumber were grown in the area, which were its star product, and hence the nickname pepineros (cucumber farmers). Felipe IV, who liked the cucumbers from the town, grant Leganés the title of Villa.
Leganés was ruled by the Marquis of Leganés family, the Guzmán, from 1680, who were related to the Count Duke of Olivares until the end of the 18th century.
The high speed of population growth took place in the 1970’s, with the arrival of many migrants from Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, etc.
