The first ethnic group to settle in the
Mezquital Valley in Hidalgo state were a group of
Otomies, who called themselves Hñahñus. They named this area Ntsʼu̱tkʼani, which means place of
verdolagas or pigweed. They were well established here by the time the
Toltecs arrived to establish the city of
Tollan. These Otomies would be subjugated by the Toltecs then later by the
Aztec Empire. Both these peoples spoke
Nahuatl and renamed the area Itzmiquilpan (later spelled Ixmiquilpan), which means "place where the verdolagas cut like flint knives." Under the Aztecs, these Otomies were not just tributary people but also provided soldiers as allies in the Aztecs' many wars. This gave them a certain amount of autonomy within the Aztec Empire. This notion of autonomy would continue into the Colonial period when communities such as Orizabita and San Juanico called themselves "republics." After the
Conquest, the first Spanish arrived here headed by Pedro Rodríguez de Escobar, who were sent by
Pedro de Alvarado as scouts. The
Augustinian monks who accompanied these soldiers founded the town of Ixmiquilpan, with the founding of the church and monastery of San Miguel Arcángel in 1550. The town grew over time, and by the early 17th century, it was decided to build the first bridge over the
Tula River, to connect Ixmiquilpan with the newer settlement of Barrio de la Otra Banda, today Barrio de Progreso. The project was undertaken by Captain Miguel Cuevas y Dávales and inaugurated in 1655. While here, he also signed a convention to construct a canal now called Debodhe to divert water from the Tula River for agricultural purposes. General
Alvaro Obregon also came here while campaigning for a second term as
president of Mexico. During the presidency of
Lázaro Cárdenas, who also visited Ixmiquilpan on several occasions, the Tecolote Dam as well as the El Morelos and El Moros Canals were built, to replace the old Debodhe canal. Later the Capula Dam would be built as well as a canal that brought drainage waters from the
Valley of Mexico, which was also used for irrigation purposes. At the end of the 1930s the irrigation capacity of the valley was expanded again with the Maye Dam and the Felipe Angels Dam. In the 1940s the Mexico City/Laredo highway was built through Ixmiquilpan which gave the town more connection with the outside world. A short time later the
municipal market was inaugurated in 1942 to meet the needs of the growing community. This market was originally on the main plaza but was moved to the Jose Maria Morelos neighborhood in 1969. In 1951, by presidential decree, the Patrimonio Indígena del Valle de Mezquital (Valley of Mezquital Indigenous Heritage) was created in Ixmiquilpan by President
Miguel Alemán Valez and state governor D. Quintín Rueda Villagran. The primary function of this organization is to promote the economy and the education of the Otomies of this region. One of its first projects was to build the Justo Sierra Secondary School in the town. Prior to this school's construction, youths had to travel to Pachuca or even to Mexico City for a secondary education. By 1969, many urbanization projects, such as the municipal market, paved streets and streetlights had been accomplished. Another project from this time was the remodeling of the main plaza and the installation of the
Diana, the Huntress fountain in the center of the plaza. From the 1940s to the 1960s the town of Ixmiquilpan improved its infrastructure considerably with the installation of the public health clinic, expansion of the main park, a sports center, a municipal library, the remodeling of the Hidalgo Theatre, the establishment of the Ñañhu or Otomi Cultural Museum and installation of radio and television broadcast. Not only did this improved the socioeconomic status of those living here, the population quintupled. ==Geography==