Santa Rosalia,
Baja California Sur
Photography by Bill Bell
Santa Rosalia is an interesting town with a history connected
to France, Washington State, the Orient and British Columbia. Its
worth a stop to explore and pick up some fabulous French baguettes from the
bakery. Click on any photograph to view in larger format.
"Copper-bearing deposits, in blue-green
globules called boleos, were discovered near here in 1868, and in 1885 a
French mining company calling itself El Boleo acquired mineral rights to
the area for 99 years. To help build over 600 km (375 miles) of mine tunnels, a
large copper smelting foundry (imported by ship from Europe), a pier, and a
30-km (18 mile) mine railway, the French brought in Yaqui indians from Sonora;
fresh water was piped in from the Santa Aqueda oasis, 16 km (10 miles) west.
Two thousand Chinese and Japanese laborers, told they would be able to plant
rice, also came to work at El Boleo. When they found that rice wouldn't
grow in Baja, almost all of them left; many ended up in Sinaloa across the Sea
of Cortez.
After smelting, the copper ore was shipped
to Tacoma, Washington, for refining. Instead of returning empty,
copper-transport ships brought lumber from the Pacific Northwest to Santa
Rosalia, and, as the town grew, the French filled the arroyo and mesas on either
side with wooden buildings to house workers, company officials, and Mexican
soldiers. During EL Boleo's heyday in the 1940's, a sooty cloud issued
constantly from the foundry's smokestack, hanging over the town. Eventually,
the ore began to run out, and in 1954 the French company sold its mining
facilities back to the Mexican government. Copper ore from the Mexican mainland
is smelted in Santa Rosalia on occasion, but the mines closed in 1985.
Without the mines in operation, Santa
Rosalia (pop. 10,200) is probably a far more pleasant place to live than ever
before. Today it serves as a government, transportation, and market center for
central Baja. It is also an important tourist crossroads for visitors making
the ferry trip to the mainland or stocking up on supplies for further peninsular
exploration.
The Mahatma Gandhi Public Library in
Parque Morelos, at the east end of town near the harbor, features an exhibit of
historic photos from Santa Rosalia's mining days. "
Iglesia Santa Barbara de Santa Rosalia
Santa Rosalia's Famous metal church, designed by Alexandre
Gustave Eiffel (builder of the Eiffel Tower) It was constructed from
prefabricated galvanized iron in 1897. The building was originally destined for
an African country where resistance to termites was required.
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