It is known that the first people who lived in the Maipo Canyon were the Chiquillanes that were settled in the current sector of Saint Gabriel and that even vestiges of the Incan Culture have been found, thanks to finding a Mommy in the El Plomo Hill. But, it was not until the period of the Conquest, the Governor of Chile, Ambrosio O’Higgins, orders the creation of a Village that mainly supports the tasks in the Saint Peter Nolasco silver mine. Jointly, other miner settlements originate that work in the different silver and copper deposits.

Then, on July 16, 1792 when the housing project Villa Saint Joseph de Maipo, in honor of Saint Joseph, with a distribution of 27 blocks of 84 meters per side and cut by nine streets from south to norm and four from east to west. The following year, a distribution was made of the homesteads and the first two were granted to Father José Santos Arambulo to erect the church and the parish house, which are located in front of the Arms Square.

The religious activities started that same year in the Villa, but the chapel was erected on December 20, 1798, being separated from the Ñuñoa Parish and blessed by the Bishop Francisco José Morán, under the name of the Parish Church of the Lord Saint Joseph de Maipo.

The construction works concluded in 1800. Afterwards, in 1878, due to the initiative of the vicar Rafael Eyzaguirre the main access is built formed by a porch of Roman arches and the tower, whose neoclassic design is attributed to the Italian architect Eduardo Pravasoli.

It is worth underscoring, the on-going concern of the priest Father Rafael Eyzaguirre for the parish and its parishioners and under his management he was in charge of building a Parish School, the oldest in the area; a lot was bought, to later promote building a hospital and the donation of land for the cemetery.

By 1969 the direction is taken by the vicar Luis Farré, finding much deteriorated constructions for some time some of which had to be restored and others demolished and re-built again. Thus in 1975, a new and modern Parish School is inaugurated with the name of the founder Rafael Eyzaguirre and in 1978, the church was fixed, reformed and painted in a colonial red. Also, chapels were built in different sectors of Saint Joseph of Maipo; even in Saint Alfonso an out clinic was left.

The February 27, 2010 earthquake left several damages to the church, among them, the tower that was seriously affected, although there was already evidence of damages due to termites and humidity since 1997.

Lastly, it must be highlighted that along with the Arms Square, the parish of Saint Joseph of Maipo is a social and tourist milestone in this Andes Mountain Range zone.