This research examines the sociocultural mechanisms behind the establishment of Normal Schools in Santa Fe, focusing on non-central localities such as Casilda and Cañada de Gómez. It argues that their foundation resulted from negotiations between local networks and the provincial government, where sociability acted as a platform for mediation. The findings reveal a dual leadership of inspector-principals who served as a link between Masonic lodges and educational policies; the pre-foundational role of libraries and theaters as spaces for pedagogical development; and a correlation between school locations and Masonic urban layouts. It concludes that educational expansion was a process of negotiated state-building rather than a centralized project, in which informal networks compensated for the weak presence of the state.