Unique Character of Santa Rosalia

Old Town Santa Rosalia

Buildings in Mexico are most often made of concrete mainly due to the limited supply of wood and because concrete helps maintain cool temperatures while deterring pests. Santa Rosalia began as a company town for a French copper mining business so “old town” has predominately wood-framed buildings of the period. Santa Rosalia oozes with the character of the past; many buildings left from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s are still used as homes, shops, restaurants, and hotels.

Santa Rosalia has a Special Character

Old locomotives and mining equipment from the early days can be seen throughout town, and ruins of the copper smelter operation stand silent along the shore. In 1868 Jose Rosas Villavicencio found ore in the shape of blue-green spheres (boleos) and had them shipped across the gulf to Guaymas to be analyzed.

Many Photo Opportunities in Santa Rosalia

A small scale prospecting enterprise soon began but the discovery was eventually seen by a French geologist from the House of Rothschild, which purchased all the smaller mine claims in 1885. The Boleo Mining Company was formed and constructed a network of roads, ranches, farms and water lines to supply the needs of the mine and miners.

Buildings From the late 1800's and early 1900's in Santa Rosalia

One important asset for the town however was over-looked, the need for a church. Alexander Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) had designed a prefabricated metal church in 1884 as a prototype for missionary churches in France’s tropical colonies. Built in 1887 to be strong enough to withstand severe tropical weather, the church was made from galvanized iron with stamped steel sheet squares for the exterior and interior. In 1889 the church and the Eiffel Tower were put on display at the Paris World’s Exposition. Years later, an official for the French Boleo Mining Company learned that the church was being stored in a Brussels warehouse. He purchased it and had the church shipped to Santa Rosalia where it was reassembled in 1897. The church has since been modified to hold more parishioners but the main church edifice is preserved in its original state.