TravelTill

History of Santa Rosalia


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Continuing 45 miles south of San Ignacio, Santa Rosal�a is an isolated town located on the Sea of Cort�s that possesses its own unique style of French architecture. On July 7, 1885, the French mining company "El Boleo" began to harvest the rich copper deposits of Santa Rosal�a. Then President Porfirio Diaz offered a 99-year contract that provided for total tax exemption for 50 years and 44,742 acres of land. In exchange, the company was obliged to build a town, including a port and public buildings, generate employment for Mexican workers and establish a maritime route between Santa Rosal�a and Guaymas.

In 1897, the Santa Barbara church was founded. It was originally designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1884 and pre constructed in two years to be shown in a World Exposition in Paris in 1889.

Walking through the town, you get the impression of being in another place and time. Santa Rosal�a's Municipal Palace, the French Hotel, Central Hotel, the Mahatma Gandhi Library, the Municipal DIF, Club Mutualista, the Post Office, the Morelos Garden (where you can find one of the original locomotives Baldwin brought in 1886) and the ruins of the old smelting operation, the Santa Barbara church and the old bakery of El Boleo are unique in every respect.

For the tourist, Santa Rosal�a offers comfortable lodging, fine restaurants, RV Parks, marina access, a domestic airport, bus depot and a ferry terminal with direct service to and from Guaymas, Sonora
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