San Miguel later became a favored travelling stop for gold and silver miners who came from the North going toward Mexico City. Soon San Miguel became a popular commercial area for surrounding towns and villages. Wealthy traders, began to come in and they built large haciendas, where cattle and livestock grew. Machetes, woven goods, leather, and other goods. Soon San Miguel was a strong local trading area.

When the mining industry diminished in the area, San Miguel began to fade into time. People forgot it was there, buildings were left standing and abandoned. Time stopped for this magnificent town. It wasnt until the 1930´s when the town was brought back to life.

Churches that were built by colonial weath are today, in their original state. These include ¨Las Monjas¨ which is still run by the nuns, San jJuan de dios, and La Salud. Today these remnants of a bygone era of wealth and splendor are still standing. They stand as monuments to a bygone era, one were buildings were lovingly created and sculpted by hand from natural stone, and earthen products.

Many of the mansions from the 18th and 19th century still stand as monuments to a local family´s heritage. The Canal house is now a bank, the Umaron family home , the famous Casa Allende now a museum. In fact most of the homes in the downtown area date back to well over two hundred years.

Time stopped for San Miguel when it was no longer used as a stopping point between mining counties and Mexico City. There was no new growth, but nothing was destroyed either: It remained, timelessly standing as an original Colonial Mexican City and in 1926 it was declared a National Historic Monument.  Today it is much as it was like in the 18th century.

In the 1920´s San Miguel began to attract many foreign writers and artists from all over the world. In the 1930´s, the famous Instituto Allende Art School was founded by the

Because of its historic qualities, and because it has been declared a historic landmark, modern buildings, and signs are forbidden. Any new building must follow strict construction guidelines, to adhere to the historic theme of the city.

Today tourism is a major industry for Sanmiguel de allende and many visitors return to live there. Ther are currently around 10,000 expatriates from other countries who now live rich, interesting and colorful lives  in a close, interesting and entertaining community in San Miguel de allende.