The municipality including the city population was , The metropolitan area had an official population of 1,, persons in In , after several modifications, the lands were purchased by Juan Ignacio Jimenez, from Cuencame.
He created a public square in Hidalgo Street now Independencia and offered free land to those who agreed to plant trees to give the region a different look. The first deed was recorded September 15, , now considered the city's founding date.
On June 25, , a legal society was formed that gave rise to La Jabonera The Soap , considered the city's most important industry. Another company was the spinning and weaving La Amistad Friendship that received a land grant to set up their factory.
Another was La Union The Union , a shoe factory that became successful enough to compete with imported European and U. Upon founding the city, Cuadra ceded land to the Mexican Central Railroad so that it could build a roundhouse and workshops, with the aim of expanding it to an entire railroad terminal.
In , a U. Over time, about 2, workers arrived. The trains were operated by U. Mexican workers occupied vacancies left by departing Americans and by , all positions were filled by Mexicans. The city became one of the largest railroad centers in the country, boosting the already thriving development. The outbreak of the revolutionary struggle caused the closure of many industries and businesses, especially affecting manual laborers. For many years, the railroad was the mainstay of the local economy.
