The colorful history of the picturesque colonial town of El Fuerte dates back to its founding in 1564 by Don Francisco de Ibarra, one of the early Spanish conquistadores, who named it San Juan Bautista de Carapoa. Harassment by the indigenous tribes caused it to be relocated for a short time, but in 1610 a fort was constructed in the original location to help secure the area for Spanish colonists and Jesuit missionaries. Not long thereafter it was named El Fuerte (the fort) de Montesclaros, after another conquistador and benefactor.

For centuries it vied with its sister mission town, Alamos, as the most powerful and influential outpost of the northern Spanish empire that reached into what is now the American southwest. After Mexican independence, it served a time as capital of the western territory that now includes the states of Sonora, Sinaloa and part of Arizona. Throughout its past, ongoing discoveries of gold and silver over a vast region to the east and into the mountains guaranteed its importance as a commercial as well as agricultural center.

Today El Fuerte’s museum is located in a replica of the fort built on a hill overlooking the city on one side and the lush lowlands of Rio Fuerte on the other. The city center and the riverside malecon are lovely and colorful places to stroll to get the feel of an authentic Mexican colonial town.