Durango Archives and Libraries

Historical Archive of the Municipality of Durango (Archivo General Histórico del Municipio de Durango)
Our knowledge of the history of Durango would be very incomplete without the resources offered to us by Durango's historical archives. In these repositories we find documents that illuminate the daily life of Durango residents. Here we find documents that tell the story of the daily life of a people, and their struggle to become a progressive and modern community.

We can also locate the records of the diverse stages of community development, which took place during the different municipal administrations since the eighteenth century until the end of the 1980s. In the archives we also find everything related to the history of pulic works, civil security, council acts, public health and education, infrastructure services to the population, etc.

The Archive also contains an excellent collection of everything relating to the Porfiriato era (1876-1911).

But perhaps one of the most spectacular collections is the collection of old photographs of the General Historical Municipal Archive of Durango. Here we can find photos of old Durango that are virtually undiscovered. These photographs are classified by subject, such as: houses of worship, public buildings, streets, parks and monuments, businesses, etc. There is also a section specializing in people and historical figures. Many of the photographs include complete families or self-portraits that encompass nearly a century, from 1860 to 1970. This collection is made richer each day with the donation of private parties and with the old photography conests held each year for the celebrations of the anniversary of Durango.

It is important to mention that by studying an old document, we find that the spelling of the era is highly irregular: we can often find the same word spelled many different ways. The name José, for instance, is written as Josef, Joseph, or Yosef. Cristóbal appears as Cristoval, Christobal, and even Xtoval.

If you want to come to know what old Durango was like or look up a historical document, we invite you to visit.

'''Archivo General Histórico del Municipio Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, esquina con 5 de Febrero Zona Centro. CP. 34000 Durango, Dgo. 8:00 a.m. a 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday'''

If you want to learn more about this incredible archive, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM3A-ktbRBc