The Mining History Museum, Rescuing a Glorious Past
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Culture also flourishes in Santa Rosalía, and this place is a perfect example. The many objects displayed take museumgoers on a trip through time to the early 20th century, when El Boleo Mine breathed life and prosperity into the city.
It’s a great place to learn more about the history of this Magical Town.
Also known as the Museo del Minero (Miner’s Museum) or the Museo de Minería El Boleo (El Boleo Mining Museum), it is interesting from the moment you see the building it is in, which people in the know say was built by the French between 1885 and 1900, to house the El Boleo Company management.
Nonetheless, when the company shut down in 1954, the building was occupied by the Mexican parastatal company that continued working the mine until 1985.
It took 11 years, but in 1996 local authorities decided to open a mining museum on the ground floor of the building.
First Steps in Historical Recovery
So on October 17, 1996, the Museo de Historia de la Minería opened to the pubic in the Mesa Francia neighborhood.
In its early years, the museum benefited from the assistance of the Pro-Museo Histórico board, but unfortunately that came to an end with the turn of the century.
And from 1999 to 2012, the General Municipal Archives occupied the second floor of the building.
A Nostalgic Trip Back in Time
Despite being small, the museum is arranged so that visitors learn firsthand through the pieces on display—well-maintained machinery and furnishings from those days—how both the company and the mine worked.
You might say that the museum tour actually starts at the entrance to Santa Rosalía, given that El trenecito stands to one side of the tourism letters. This elegant black locomotive that was used to transport the valuable mineral still bears the name of the mining company in French: Compagnie du Boleo.
This train may well be one of the most photographed things in Santa Rosalía, though only a fact check could confirm that.
As the museum visit begins, visitors are transported back in time as they discover company office furnishings: antique typewriters and a Paul Garnier clock from Paris that stopped running at exactly 6:13.
There are also old instruments, such as an engine control and a telephone switchboard. The latter brings to mind a surprising fact: Santa Rosalía had one of the first telephone lines in Mexico.
And last of all, imaginations soar in the management office and treasury, as museumgoers envision endless parades of individuals—suppliers and employees—lined up in this very spot, waiting for their payment over a century ago.
Please note the reasonable museum entrance fees: 30 pesos (under two USD) for adults and 15 pesos for children. So now you know: the Museo de Historia de la Minería is waiting to take you on a trip to the past.
Location
◘ Antigua Gerencia de Minera Boleo, Jean M. Cousteau, Mesa Francia, Santa Rosalía, B.C.S.
◘ Just over 150 feet from Hotel Francés
◘ Hours: Mon to Fri, 8 am to 6:30 pm; Sat and Sun, 9 am to 6 pm
