A LONG ROAD TO RICHES - The Ambitious Village of Batopilas

Jennifer Bjarnason
Jun 16, 2024
7 min read

Updated: Jul 19, 2024

Long & winding road to Batopilas

Batopilas Canyon, Chihuahua Mexico

Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason November 2018

THE AMBITIOUS VILLAGE OF BATOPILAS

Some roads are more dangerous than others, but the truly intrepid journey to a colourful Pueblo Magico in the base of Batopilas canyon is as exciting as it is brave. The twisting road spirals down a series of steep and unforgiving switchbacks from the canyon rim to the base, through a remote expanse of raw and magnificent wilderness. Though the prospect of traversing such a treacherous route may scare some away from embarking on this journey, please remember that the professional drivers who frequent these roads are cautious navigators who, like you, are intent on arriving safely. In many regards, it´s the easy roads that make drivers less cautious and more prone to error than the meandering road that will deliver us to one of the most surprising and unexpected destinations.

Batopilas is literally in the middle of nowhere and yet this striking and majestic village packs a plethora of history, colonial architecture, silver riches, fancy hacienda ruins, a sacked church, indigenous celebrations and is a crossroads of important history, such as the famous Silver Road, or El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the escapades of the legendary and celebrated Pancho Villa, and despite being remote, was the second place in all of Mexico to have electricity. This desolate little town peers out over the Batopilas river with her rich colours and crumbling architecture, seeming like a distant treasure from an enchanting faerytale storybook.

Colonial Streets of Colour

Batopilas, Chihuahua Mexico

Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason November 2018

With an approximate population of 1200, Batopilas lays stretched out along the Batopilas River at the base of steep canyon walls that rise up on either side of a narrow valley. Though the village is sparsely populated, the colonial architecture is ornate due to the wealth of her builders.

As with other indigenous groups in Mexico, it is likely the Raramuri peoples of the region were cognizant of the presence of precious metal in their territory, especially given how visible it was. In 1632, an unnamed Spanish conquistador observed shining white ore in the Rio Batopilas, close to her banks. The party founded a mine on spot named La Nevada, meaning "snow-capped," due to the colour purity of the precious metal looking like snow. The explorers took several ore samples back to Mexico City so they could be shipped to Spain for appraisal.

In 1708, Spaniard Pedro de la Cruz filed for the second known mine plot, which he named Guadalupe, and it wasn´t long before dozens of mines dotted the narrow valley and put the remote village of Batopilas on the map.

It should be noted that due to two major fires that ripped through the valley and village, most of what scholars know about the history here prior to 1845 comes from the Colonial Archives in Madrid, Spain.

Herringbone silver deposit

La Nevada Mine, Batopilas Chihuahua Mexico

Photo by James St. John

Hacienda San Miguel sits across the river from the village, and was the first notable mansion built here in the mid-1600`s. In the mid 1700`s, an entrepreneur and eventual Mayor of the town, Don Juan José de Rivolta expanded the hacienda and transformed it into a Medieval style fortress with watch towers and walls. The Haciendas next owner was Rafael Alonzo Pastrana, who found one of the most lucrative veins in the region. Historians estimate the Pastrana vein earned him over 48 million pesos between 1730-1750, making Pastrana one of the richest men in the world. The living quarters of the hacienda were once again expanded, and by the end of the 1700`s, it was purchased by Don Ángel Bustamante. During his ownership, the mine produced more than 30 million pesos in ore over a 30 year period. Sadly, following the death of Bustamante, the War of Independence was nigh and by 1840, the thriving town of Batopilas was reduced to only 10 families. The splendour of Hacienda San Miguel was lost to natures reclamation, while it sat empty for nearly 12 years.

Enter wealthy merchant Manuel Mendazona of Culiacan in 1852. Ambitious and dedicated to reprising Batopilas to her former prestige, Mendazona restored Hacienda San Miguel and began projects in the village, including the construction of a tunnel to access several silver veins. Following his unexpected death in 1856, Mendazona`s brother-in-law took over his projects for about 5 years, before selling the hacienda, mines and tunnel in 1861 to an American investor John Riley Robinson.

Ex-Hacienda San Miguel

Batopilas, Chihuahua Mexico

Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason November 2018

Robinsons arrival in Batopilas was directly connected to the decline of silver deposits being found in California, where the industry had exhausted itself. A man of many trades, Robinson partnered with several powerful Wells Fargo tycoons, including William K. Fargo himself. These investors pooled their resources to purchase the mines in Batopilas for $50,000 USD, sending Robinson to represent their interests in February 1861. By May of that year, Robinson was successful in purchasing the Hacienda San Miguel, adjacent mines and the San Antonio mines, all of which were registered under the Batopilas Silver Manufacturing Company in 1862.

A frugal and careful businessman, Robinson made minor improvements where needed, but was more interested in profit than philanthropy or living large. Under his reign, Batopilas attracted an eclectic mix of workers, including Africans, Chinese, Americans, Mexicans and local indigenous Rararmuri. The town was lined with little miner shacks, and due to harsh living conditions and a lack of women, prostitution grew into a robust industry here.

Like all major industries, the foreign mine and land owners were positioned to amas great wealth, while the locals and workers drowned in poverty and poor health. Another advantage for the foreign investors was the fact that they could evade paying taxes by transporting their raw material to Mazatlan, where it was loaded onto boats owned by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company for transport to Asia, New York and San Francisco. By 1872, this was stopped and the company was instructed to deal with a newly established mint in Chihuahua City. By 1876, Robinson was exhausted due to political uncertainty and a typhoid epidemic that took the lives of two of his sons and two grandsons. It was 1879 when Robinson sold the Batopilas Silver Manufacturing Company to Alexander Shepherd.

Old & charming tienda in downtown

Batopilas, Chihuahua Mexico

Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason November 2018

After a colourful career that left him officially bankrupt, Alexander Shepherd landed in Batopilas with his family, determined to rebuild his wealth. He recognized the security threat of local bandits and how befriending powerful allies would help his bottom line. Not only did Shepherd replace local managers and officials with American politicians and powerful businessmen he deemed loyal to his interests, he also extended friendship to controversial President Porfirio Diaz. So great was his desire to gain the trust of Diaz, Shepherd went as far as to rename the San Miguel Tunnel as the Porfirio Diaz Tunnel, to promote the Presidents love for progress.

Such an opportunistic friendship led to Shepherd obtaining control over more land, water and mines, not to mention procuring generous tax exemptions over a span of 40 years. Shepherd also smuggled silver through Mazatlan, resulting in fudged books and an inability to determine how much silver was mined during his era. One major discrepancy in his ledgers included reporting labour costs at $390 per employee when they were only $75.

Though Shepherd did make improvements to Batopilas by way of bridges, aqueducts and medical services, one of his greatest accomplishments was the construction of a hydroelectric dam, making Batopilas the second in all of Mexico (behind Mexico City) to enjoy electricity. Shepherd died in 1902 from peritonitis. Eventually the company came under the control of his son Alexander Shepherd Jr.

Hacienda San Miguel (left) & Batopilas River

Batopilas, Chihuahua Mexico

Photo by Jennifer Bjarnason November 2018

One major obstacle Shepherd Jr`s company faced in the early 20th century was the Mexican Revolution and the rise of legendary Francisco Pancho Villa. Villa`s army took control of Northern Mexico, making it unsafe to transport silver in any direction out of the remote canyons.

On December 24, 1918, Pancho Villa and his men descended on the small town of San Francisco Javier de Satevo, which is located about 5 kilometers from Batopilas. The outcome of this battle was grim, with Villa`s army forcing pro-governmment agents into the church before lighting it on fire and sacking the town. The insecurity and uncertainty caused by such violence was the final nail in the coffin for the silver mining ambitions of Batopilas, and the mines were officially closed in 1921.

A population without work meant the decline of citizenry, and the census count dwindled from 6500 at it´s peak, to about 400 by the early 1930`s. In the 1940`s, a major flood struck the town and destroyed Shepherds hydroelectric damn, leaving the town without electricity until 1989.

Sadly, with a lack of connection to the outside world and little to no security, cartels moved into the region in 1984, seizing control of outlying areas for drug production. On October 19, 2012, the government declared Batopilas a Pueblo Magico, bringing the town much needed tourism, which in turn, meant the paving and improvement to the main road that connects the small town with Creel. Today Batopilas is a colourful and well-maintained community that is proud of its heritage, and welcomes those brave enough to traverse the rolling canyons to her doorstep.

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