By the latter part of the 20th century, the main buildings of Santa Maria Regla and San Miguel Regla were converted into luxury hotels and resorts. The large haciendas of the area were broken up, with much of the land becoming ejidos, or lands held in common by rural communities. Since that time, agriculture has continued to be the mainstay economically. This prompted mass migration out of the area. By the mid 19th century, many of the granaries and other buildings lay in ruins. However, since the renters had no vested interest in maintaining the properties, overgrazing and other ecological damage would ruin this aspect of the economy as well. Lands were rented out and the raising of cattle grew in importance. By 1810, the production of the mines here, in Pachuca and in Real del Monte fell almost 80%. This would end after this count's death in 1781 due to poor management. At their height, these haciendas employed thousands of workers, first to build them then to operate them. Romero established four major mining haciendas here, with the largest being San Miguel Regla and Santa Maria Regla. The mines he established along with earlier ones in Pachuca and Real del Monte made him the richest man in the world at the time. The town of Huasca became established between the 1760s and 1780s as Pedro Romero de Terreros, the first Count of Regla, developed mining here. By the 17th century, the encomienda was broken up and the lands around the Indian republic became haciendas. In the late 16th century, the area was acknowledged as an “Indian Republic,” meaning that the natives here had a certain amount of autonomy from the Spanish. Small villages such as San Sebastian and San Bartolomé are mentioned in early records but not the municipal seat of Huasca. The area came under the encomienda of the Diego de Paz family, who were centered in Atotonilco el Grande starting in 1558. Historyįirst records of the area extend only as far as the early colonial period. The first and most probable means “place of happiness and abundance.” The second derives from a phrase that means “place of water.” The third comes from a phrase that means “place where they make precious cotton shawls (mantas).” The appendage “de Ocampo” was adopted in honor of Melchor Ocampo, who lived briefly here in the mid 19th century. The original name for the area was “Huascazaloya.” This come from Nahuatl and has three possible meanings. While agriculture remains important economically, the area has been promoted as a tourism destination, especially for weekend visitors from Mexico City, with attractions such as canyons, traditional houses, old hacienda facilities and waterfalls. By the mid 20th century, none of these haciendas were in existence, having been broken up into communal farm lands ( ejido ) and some even fully or partially under lakes created by dams. While one of the first haciendas to be established in Mexico is located here, economic development started with mining haciendas built by Pedro Romero de Terreros in the 18th century. While the town itself is just within the mountain range, much of the municipal land is located in a valley that opens up to the east of the town. ![]() ![]() It is located 34 km from Pachuca and 16 km from Real del Monte in the Pachuca Mountains. Huasca de Ocampo (Spanish: ) is a town and municipality of the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico.
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