Very few people lived in the lands of the Valverde province because it is very dry; there were only some people raising cattle in large ranches. The Spanish word for those ranches was "Hato" and there are many places in the province with the word "Hato" in their names (Hato del Yaque, Hato Nuevo, Hato Viejo, Hato del Medio) or "Hatico" (small "Hato").