El Oro

History

The Mazahua were the first people to settle this area, in communities such as Tapaxco and Santiago Oxtempan, and the region was conquered by the Aztecs under Axayácatl in 1474. There was no settlement on the site of the town itself until gold was found. One story credits the Mondragón family, led to the spot by a young shepherd, with finding the vein that later carried their name.

El Oro was founded in 1787 by miners who bought land from the Hacienda of Tultenango, and in 1793 the mining camp gained municipal status. The mines stopped during the war of independence. Afterward British capital revived them, and by 1825 most mining here was in English hands. English and French residents shaped the town's tastes, which later showed in the Neoclassical and Art Nouveau town hall and the Teatro Juárez.

Foreign investment peaked around 1900, bringing a rail line and electricity. The discovery of the Esperanza vein swelled the population, and decrees of 1901 and 1902 made the town the municipal seat as El Oro de Hidalgo. Production began to fall in 1926, the companies were expropriated in 1937, and the last mine, Dos Estrellas, closed in 1958. The town has since turned to commerce, crafts and tourism, and was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2011.