1794 it had a parish church and three convents with about thirty friars, and as many other clergymen. There was also a public school supported by funds bequeathed by a resident of that town. Toward the end of the eighteenth century the population was rapidly increasing,[1] and mining, commerce, agriculture, and stock-raising had made great progress. Fresnillo had at this period about five thousand inhabitants and was governed by a lieutenant under the
alcalde of Jerez; there was a large parochial church and a Dominican hospice. The site was little better than that of Zacatecas. The mines in the hills of Proaño, south-west of the town, belonged for the most part to the marquis of Apartado.[2]
Most of the settlements in the province of San
- ↑ In 1794 the town had 8,376 inhabitants. Aguirre, Doc. Antig., in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2d ep. iii. 21-5. See for other details Dias, Mex., v. 322; Gazeta Mex., i.-xv., passim.
- ↑ The curacy of Fresnillo was said to be the most lucrative in Nueva Galicia, paying §12,000 per year. Morfi in Doc. Hist. Mex., 3d ser. iv. 333-5.
details concerning it see Id., ii. 18; Dicc. Univ., i. 77-8; S. Miguel, Rep. Mex., i. 7.
