San Sebastián del Oeste

History

San Sebastián was founded as a mining town in 1605, early in the colonial period. Gold, silver and lead came out of the surrounding mountains, and the church of Saint Sebastian was first built in 1608. By 1785 more than 25 mines and several smelting works were operating in the area. The town was formally given the rank of city in 1812. Its name honors its patron saint, and "del Oeste" was added to tell it apart from San Sebastián del Sur.

Mining prosperity carried the town to its peak around 1900, when some 20,000 people are said to have lived here. After the Revolution of 1910 the mines declined and nearly everyone left; by the start of the twenty-first century fewer than a thousand people remained.

That long quiet is why so much survives. Many stone and adobe buildings from the nineteenth century and earlier stand unchanged, and several old haciendas have been bought and restored in recent decades. Better roads have brought the town within easy reach of visitors staying in Puerto Vallarta. San Sebastián del Oeste was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2011.