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Batopilas
The destination for many of our cross-country horse and hiking trips, Batopilas is a charming old mining village that seems caught in the last century. Cobble-stone streets pass by stately buildings dating to the turn of the 20th Century, when the town was ruled by Alexander “Boss” Shepherd.
The word “Batopilas” probably came from the Tarahumara Ba-cho-tigori which means “near the river”. In 1632 Spanish adelantados or “advance guards” found native silver near the bank of the Batopilas river. At one time the area had over 300 mining claims, Batopilas silver herringbone crystal groups are unique in the world to the point where serious collectors can identify the origin with a mere glance.
The original discovery was apparently near the bank of the river where pure
silver had been stream-polished. The snow-white quality of the mine prompted the
Spanish to name it Nevada (snowy). Specimens from this important discovery were
taken to Mexico City and then shipped back to the King of Spain in Madrid. In 1775 Cristobal Perez, a Mexican, obtained the rights to work the San Antonio
mine, he soon struck a pocket of silver which yielded many millions of dollars
worth of silver over the ensuing 14 years of continuous mining. The entire
fortune had been spent by the time their son died in 1814. In the 1790s Angel
Bustamante, a Spanish merchant, came to Batopilas and gradually became involved
in mining. After many failed attempts, he struck a rich bonanza in the Carmen
mine. Later he returned to Spain where he used part of his wealth to purchase
the title “Marquis de Batopilas”. Employees continued to operate his mines until
1824.
That same year Baron Alexander von Humboldt wrote that masses of silver weighing over 200 kilograms (440 pounds) had been taken from mines in Batopilas. By the 1820s the Mexican war of Independence had resulted in many Spanish leaving the country and Batopilas went into recession. In 1842 Natividad Ortez arrived in Batopilas, an unusual woman with strong character, she soon began working a number of mines along with an Indian associate Nepomucceno Avila. Manuel Mendoza, a merchant from Cuilacan who had previous mining experience, later purchased one of her mines, the San Antonio. Mendoza soon realized that carrying ore 150 vertical meters out of the mines was prohibitive and began construction of the San Miguel tunnel, which was eventually completed by an American, John R. Robinson. Robinson had purchased the property in 1861, five years after Mendoza’s death. In digging the tunnel Robinson discovered the Veta Grande, an exceedingly rich vein of native silver.
The town slowly continued to grow and prosper. In 1877 it was made the capital of the canton of Andres del Rio. The glory days of Batopilas began in 1880 with the purchase of the San Miguel mine by Alexander R. (Boss) Shepherd. The former (and last) governor of Washington D.C., Shepherd reportedly had inside information that silver was to be decontrolled and placed on the free market where its value would increase greatly. Shepherd eventually consolidated over 350 mining claims into the Batopilas Mining Company. In 1886 the Mexican Government gave control of the entire district to the Company which Shepherd operated until a burst appendix took his life in May, 1902. His body was prepared for burial and shipped back to Washington where he was finally buried in September.
Shepherd lived in Batopilas with his entire family and a nucleus of American workers. He reinvested much of his earnings in his operations, which included a dam, and 5-km long aqueduct. That system provided water for the first hydroelectric plant in Mexico making Batopilas the second city in the country (after Mexico City) to have electric power. Shepherd’s operations were centralized at “The Hacienda,” ruins of which many may be seen today. During his tenure he began an intensive program of inoculating against smallpox and it is credited with eliminating the disease in the area
Shepherds sons took over the mining operation after his death. Unfortunately, the mining began a permanent decline with the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910. They continued operating on a limited basis until 1920. Since then, intermittent attempts to reopen the mines have met with only minor success. Batopilas was the first town in Mexico to have telephones, an internal circuit which connected Shepherd’s mines with the central headquarters. The town had to wait until 1995 for its first outside telephone service operated through a small caseta on the town plaza, in the summer of 2001 individual telephones were installed in homes. Permanent electricity first came to the town in the year 2000. A small museum was added in September 2007. Today tourism plays an increasing role in Batopilas. While in Batopilas, popular side trips include the ruins of Sheperd's hacienda on the east end of Batopilas and the Mission at Satevó. We suggest you consider a guide should you go and recommend Manuelito Gill highly. Manuelito lives in Batopilas, knows his history, and is a classic gentleman. His English is limited but with a minor amount of Spanish, you will be able to communicate. And ride in the open back of his truck to Satevó is a memorable experience. Recently he gave us a copy of an old area map he obtained. Some of the prominently marked communities are quite small today. In Batopilas, we can recommend the following hotels which are centrally located near the town plaza: Real de Minas de
Acanasaina Hotel Juanita's While in Batopilas, it is possible to make long distance calls, although not with the automated electronic phone cards - cash only. Costs to the United States as of November, 2006 were $14 M.N. per minute - a little over a dollar.
Note: Most of the material for this report was taken from the article “Batopilas” by Wendell Wilson and Christopher Panczner. This article appeared in The Minerological Record, volume 17, January-February 1986
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