Hacienda Chichimequillas

Out of the hundreds of haciendas that existed in Querétaro, few are used today, some of them as restaurants or hotels, but an even smaller number are still used for agricultural or livestock production.

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This is a brief history of the beautiful and antique hacienda located in the small town of Chichimequillas, outside of Queretaro. This hacienda could be the next perfect boutique wedding location of your choice, be sure to check it our soon!

During the first years of occupation in the Querétaro valley, various efforts were made to organize, in the Spanish manner, the Chichimeco-Jonace and Pame groups that were scattered in the north of the region.  One such effort was made by the religious order of the Discalced Carmelites, throughout the 17th century, who founded settlements along the Camino Real, which led from the mines of Guanajuato and Zacatecas to Mexico City.  Due to the existence of aquifers and runoff from the Sierra del Zamorano,  in addition to forests rich in wood, the maintenance of these settlements was well achieved.

Under this situation, the Carmelites settled in the area in 1691, in a small construction possibly built with adobe. From this, the subsequent ones were made; the Mesón, in the 18th century, made of lime and stone, and which was a post where travelers going to or returning from the mines ate, rested and changed animals to continue their journey; and later the Mill and the Chapel (19th century), together with the Carmen dam and the La Laguna embankment. By 1813 the construction of the hull was finished, which already then housed some spaces for the school of trades under the tutelage of the Carmelites.

Some time later, the hacienda belonging to Doña Teresa Peña, was announced at auction in April 1886, together with the hacienda of San Vicente, adjacent to Chichimequillas, which by the way is believed to have been the same at some point, since there are documents that they mention them as San Vicente Chichimequillas. Years later the first conflicts between the government and the assets of the Church take place, until finally the hacienda is abandoned. Until now, its land already totaled 20,904 hectares. It was expropriated based on the confiscation laws of dead hands and abandoned for some time. Finally, around 1885, it was acquired by Remigio Noriega Lazo, a native of Asturias, until his death in 1930, his wife Pilar Mestas took charge of keeping it productive. His daughter, Doña Pilar Noriega Mestas marries Don Salvador Amieva de la Fuente, who continues to work the property, leaving it years later under the care of her sons Alejandro and Remigio Amieva Noriega, who still own the property and the hull.

Don Trinidad Salazar, a former laborer and current resident of the El Pinto community, remembers those moments: “A lot was harvested. We collected the corn and it was taken to the hacienda, from there it was distributed or sold. The boundary reached where I now have my house and went to the Pinal del Zamorano… and then the land was distributed.”

The austere infrastructure in the formative stage of the hacienda was made up of some adobe and stone rooms, corrals and a waterwheel. Little by little, the Carmelites built essential spaces to make the place habitable and carry out administration activities, storage of crops and work implements. Later, more complex spaces emerged, such as the helmet, the economic and social life of the hacienda and the region revolved. In its courtyard the various work areas were grouped, such as the workshop and trade rooms, and in its upper part the parents' rooms. The chapel was built, attached to the hull, at the end of the entrance corridor, in whose atrium Holy Week celebrations and other festivities were held, activities that served as a link between the workers and the hacienda. In addition, the access to the barns called San Pedro, San Pablo and del Sagrado Corazón, the product of the crops was stored inside the patio to protect them from bandits that might pass through the area.

These barns are currently built with half-barrel vaults and the Sacred Heart vault is also supported by pillars on the inside and buttresses on the outside. The collection, conduction, storage and distribution of water used for human, animal and irrigation consumption, during the time of the Carmelites, based on the construction of the board known as La Laguna and later, being property of Noriega Lazo. , the old Carmen dam was repaired and the Chica dam, called Del Pilar, was built. Incidentally, the curtain of the latter was struck by lightning in 1916. Another of nature's shocks to this hacienda was in December 1925, when the Carmen dam could not withstand a strong current of water that, when it broke, flooded the land near the river and some surrounding houses. Under these circumstances, Don Remigio built a tunnel covered with limestone 1.80 meters high and one meter wide, along 1,800 meters which, due to the depletion of the aquifers and the growth of the population, had become insufficient, which is why well drilling has now been carried out.

Under the care of its owners Alejandro and Remigio Amieva, the hacienda's beautiful hull is kept in good condition and its land currently produces sorghum, corn and beans, as well as a large number of Holstein cattle for dairy production. The chapel is still in operation and there the activities of the current town that sits outside the perimeter fence are carried out, which maintains the stately Chichimequillas as a living hacienda.

From the city of Querétaro, take the highway towards the Penal and 20 minutes in front of San José el Alto, you will reach the town of Chichimequillas. The hacienda is private, so access is only possible with the permission of the owners.

Translated from: Mexico Desconocido