Villa del Carbón

History

The first people known to have settled these rugged hills were the Otomí, and the region, together with neighboring Chapa de Mota, was known as Chiapan. It lay on the trade route between Tula and Teotihuacan, and remains of old fortifications survive at places like Taxhimay. Nahua groups arrived later, and by the 15th century the Aztecs had made the Otomí their tributaries. Several villages of Otomí and Nahua origin in the area still keep much of their culture.

After the Spanish conquest, Spanish families began renting land from local chiefs in the late 16th century to raise cattle and sheep. In 1714 Chiapan was divided into what are now Chapa de Mota and Villa del Carbón. The community that is today the town had no official name then. It grew up around the church of Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia, built between 1700 and 1740 to house an image of the Virgin brought from Spain, and was known simply as the congregation of that church.

Later in the colonial period its people became major suppliers of charcoal to surrounding towns and even to Mexico City. Travelers were directed to the new town where they make charcoal, and the long formal name that resulted was eventually shortened to Villa del Carbón. It was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2015.