The Silver Mines of Hostotipaquillo Part 4: Ex-Hacienda Mochitiltic (main house, chapel and arches)

Two Hacienda Hunters walk away from some ruined arches. Jim B and Catherine are two of my fellow hacienda addicts. The arches are the first clear indication that you have reached Ex-Hacienda Mochitiltic (Mo-chi-til-tic). In March of 2023, I guided a group of friends to this site, but I had previously visited in May of 2016. While most of the photos will be from the 2023 trip, a few are from the earlier adventure. 

In this posting, I will focus on the casa grande (big house) and its capilla (chapel). In the next posting, I will show the remains of the aqueduct, the waterwheel, and the patio where the silver ore was processed. Unfortunately, my information about this old site is somewhat limited. I will have to fill in the blanks with what I already know about how these haciendas de beneficio functioned during the colonial period and early Republic . (Photo by  Anne Kilroy)

Overview:

How to get there. Take the Chapala-Guadalajara carretera north to the Macrolibramiento (a toll road) and head west until you connect with the 15D cuota (another toll road). Again head west until you reach Magdalena where you exit and take Highway 15 (a free road) through town. Continue on Highway 15 past the turnoff to Hostotipaquillo. About 10km (6.2mi) past the turnoff, you will reach the small pueblo of La Venta de Mochitiltic. 

Look for a store on the left selling Corona Beer and one next to it called "Minisuper Las Cuates". Pass the stores and take your next left (a dirt road called Lopez Mateos). If, while still on the highway, you come to a small bridge over an arroyo, you have missed your turn. Follow Lopez Mateos 1.5 blocks until it forks. Take the right fork (a dirt road called Francisco Villa) and follow it downhill to the arches. The ruins are on both sides of the road as it heads down the hill.  

La Casa Grande

The casa grande sits back from the road on the left, across from the arches. To reach it, you have to pass through a gate. Unless the gate is already open, please close it behind you. The two-story structure is long and fairly narrow and the outer walls are all that remain. This photo only captures the middle section of the house. There are wings extending off to the left and right. All the rooms inside are full of underbrush and nothing remains of the original furnishings.

Hacienda Mochitiltic was founded during the 1600s, but I have very little information about its early history. However, sometime during the first half of the 1700s, it was acquired by Juan Fernández de Ubiarco. He and his two brothers, José Maria and Francisco, began as merchants and then invested in mining. They also extended loans to other miners, acted as purchasing agents for buying mercury, and became public officials. Juan and his brothers typified the entrepreneurs of their time.

The casa grande, viewed from the right wing. You can clearly see the materials used in the outer walls. The lower part of the structure was constructed with rough stone. The second story, primarily made of adobe, has brick trim around the windows and doors.  These materials indicate that the construction was probably done in the 17th or early 18th centuries. It is likely that there was originally a balcony or a porch under the upper door. 

The following are some examples of Juan Fernandez de Ubiarco's multifaceted activities. In 1712, he purchased mercury for Capitán Nicolás de Zertucha, owner of the Hacienda de beneficio Santa Maria, (see Part 2 of this series). Then in 1714, he loaned Zertucha 4000 pesos to purchase the mine called Nuestra Señora de los Remedios. Later, in 1733, he loaned 21,000 pesos to the Capitán's widow Josefa María Leal so she could finance the various mining operations she had inherited.

An empty doorway looks out onto the countryside. This door once led into a room in the left wing of the casa grande. All the interior structures of the room are gone, leaving only this view. The tree-line in the background borders the Rio Mochitiltic. The mountains beyond were once full of silver mines. The doorway itself is trimmed with brick, while the walls around it are made of adobe.

Fernández de Ubiarco found another lucrative opportunity by acting as a fiador (co-signer) for other miners at various times. In 1734, using the profits from his mercantile operations, as well as all of the fees and loan interest he collected, Fernández de Ubiarco bought a half interest in a mine called San Nicolas Obispo. Eventually he came to fully own several mines and haciendas de beneficio, as well as other haciendas de ganado y agricola (livestock and grain) besides Mochitiltic.

Ruins of the end of the right wing of the casa grande. When the casa grande was built, probably at the end of the 17th or beginning of the 18th century, brick was expensive. Consequently, it was usually reserved for architectural trim. Adobe is building material made from earth mixed with straw or dung. All these materials were free and readily available in colonial times. The earth was mixed with water and the binding material. The adobe was then packed into wooden frames and left out to dry in the sun. It is still made this way today.

When Fernandez de Ubiarco acquired Hacienda Mochitiltic, his object was to supply his mining and refining operations with grain, meat, leather, and mules. He turned this into one of the area's largest haciendas de ganado y agricola and integrated its operations into his growing business empire. Some of the agricultural products and livestock produced at this hacienda were also sold to the owners of other mines and haciendas de beneficio.

Another empty doorway leads into a room in the center of the casa grande. When visiting some of these old sites, it is necessary to use my imagination to visualize what they may have looked like when they were functioning. I have visited more than a hundred haciendas in various states of repair, from intact to complete rubble, so I am usually able to figure out what I am looking at and how it fits into the overall layout. 

Juan Fernández de Ubiarco entered the mining business in 1712 and retired in 1754. After his retirement, he occupied various public offices in Guadalajara, including alcalde ordinario (municipal court justice) and aguacil mayor (sheriff). However, even during his retirement, he continued to be involved in mining until he became ill and finally died in 1786. This extraordinary span of activity over 74 years is unequalled in the history of Hostotipaquillo's mining business. 

The Casco wall

A high adobe wall once surrounded the casco. The casco is the center of operations of a hacienda and usually includes the casa grande, capilla, stables, and the bodega where the most valuable products are stored. The casco wall protected these facilities from raids by bandits, hostile natives, and rogue military units.

View out of the carriage gate of the casco wall. I was looking out from the yard in front of the casa grande when I took this shot. Notice the remains of the gate's arch, which covered an opening big enough for a horse-drawn carriage. Until the advent of railroads in the last half of the 19th century, the hacendado would often travel by horseback. When traveling a long distance, or accompanied by his family, a carriage was used. 

La Capilla

A long narrow capilla is attached to the side of the refining facility. A capilla (chapel) is a standard feature at most of the haciendas I have visited. Usually they are attached to the casa grande or are closely adjacent to it. However, in this case, the capilla is next to the work area. The capilla was primarily for the use of the hacendado, his family, and the employees who lived on the property. If the hacienda was in a remote location, a priest might be one of its residents.

A cross on the wall revealed the room's purpose. When I first visited, I didn't pay much attention to this room. On my second visit, one of our party remarked upon the cross and I immediately checked it out. The dimensions of the room and the cross almost certainly mean that this was the old capilla. The fact that the room is in ruins is a bit unusual. In many ex-haciendas, even if the rest of the structures are in ruins, the capilla will usually be intact. Local people often keep them neat and tidy and continue to use them for religious purposes. 

Peter, one of my fellow Hacienda Hunters, walks by the arches. These are the same ones seen in the first photo. Just beyond the arches, you can see the metal bars of a modern corral. The grounds of ex-Hacienda Mochitiltic are now used to hold livestock. On my first visit we saw some horses but they were not around when we came the second time.

This completes Part 4 of my series on Hostotipaquillo and its silver mines. In the next part, I will continue with ex-Hacienda Mochitiltic, focusing on the industrial parts where the ore was refined. I hope you enjoyed this posting and, if so, will please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below, or email me directly.

Hasta luego, Jim