Huasca de Ocampo

History

The town's original name, Huascazaloya, comes from Nahuatl and means "place of joy." Written records of the area begin in the colonial period. From 1558 it fell under the encomienda of the family of Diego de Paz, based in Atotonilco el Grande, and Augustinian friars from that town's monastery founded the church in the 1500s. By the end of the century the area was recognized as a República de Indios, which gave its indigenous communities a degree of self-rule. In the 17th century the encomienda was broken up and the surrounding land became haciendas.

The town itself took shape between 1760 and 1780, driven by Pedro Romero de Terreros, first Count of Regla, who built four haciendas here to process ore from his mines. The largest were San Miguel Regla and Santa María Regla. After his death in 1781 the operation declined through poor management, and by the mid-1800s many buildings were in ruins. Around then the statesman Melchor Ocampo lived here briefly, and the town later added his name.

The haciendas were eventually divided, with much of their land becoming ejidos. In the late 20th century the main buildings of Santa María Regla and San Miguel Regla were turned into hotels, while San Antonio Regla lies almost entirely under the water of a reservoir. On October 5, 2001, Huasca became the first town in Mexico to join the Pueblos Mágicos program.