In the late 16th century, Uayamón is recorded as a cattle ranch and is also listed as one of the places plundered from 1685 onwards by the corsairs Laurens de Graff, known as Lorencillo, and his lieutenant Grammont. A century later, under the ownership of Don Francisco de Cisero, Colonel and commander of the White Militias, Uayamón stands as one of the largest haciendas in Campeche.

The Carvajal family’s political and economic influence was prominent in the region. Colonel José Segundo Carvajal served as the governor of Yucatán in 1831

Rafael Carvajal Iturralde –who purchased the hacienda–, served as the governor of Campeche between 1850 and 1853, and authored the document «El registro yucateco.» However, it was with Fernando Carvajal Estrada, a liberal politician and prominent businessman of his time, that the property reached its peak, displaying architectural features that make it a superb example of Porfirian elegance.

By 1877, it was the second most important hacienda in the state in terms of size. At the end of the century, it became the property of Fernando Carvajal Estrada, who bequeathed it to Rafael Carvajal Iturralde, whose name appears on one of the buildings.

From the end of the 18th century, the opening of commerce allowed the cultivation of crops for the export and each region specialized in producing what was richest to the local soil. Thus, huge areas were turned over to the exploitation of hard woods, salt, sugar cane, cotton or tobacco. From 1830 there were attempts at large scale sisal production, but the lack of fiber-shredding machinery limited the supply to hand-produced fiber.

In the 19th century, Uayamón was one of the most prosperous diversified haciendas in the Campeche region due to its productive variety, including livestock and corn cultivation common to haciendas of the time. It also involved sugarcane and henequen cultivation, as well as the exploitation of the Campeche wood, also known as «palo de tinte» (dyewood).

In 1908, the completed 29 kilometers of tracks comprised the Campeche – Chiná and Mérida – Uayamón sections, passing through two other haciendas owned by Carvajal in the region: Xanabchakán and Mucuychacán.

The Campechano Railroad had three stations: Campeche, Chiná, and Uayamón, the largest and best-built of which received train service for the first time on September 16, 1908, making Fernando Carvajal one of the most forward-thinking entrepreneurs in Campeche.

The government that came into power after the 1910 Revolution carried out agrarian reforms and the redistribution of land, at the same time as the market for “Green Gold” was declining. Many haciendas were abandoned, and their ruins disappeared into the tropical jungle. Today, some have been restored for a different purpose from the original ones, thus preserving the beauty of what was until not so long ago, the Pride of Yucatan.

Uayamón thus became a significant commercial hub. In 1911, it witnessed the reception of Francisco I. Madero in Campeche

it was the scene of a confrontation between political groups that took Uayamón as their headquarters for several days, destroying the machines’ scraping boilers and the railroad station. The world represented by Uayamón was severely transformed; with the second decade of the century, a precipitous decline began, leaving the hacienda in ruins.

It was only in the last quarter of the 19th century that sisal could be shredded mechanically, and cultivation spread. The old estates or rural farms were transformed to the almost exclusive production of fiber. Great halls were built for the shredding machinery, steam engines with their typical chimneys, and presses for making bales, trains for transporting the leaves, networks of Decauville rails that covered the whole hacienda, dryers, and warehouses. Plants were built for overseas administrators, supervisors and workers, as well as service buildings such as schools, infirmaries, chapels, stores and others, which now form occasionally quite large villages around the haciendas.

The railway project that inaugurated the 20th century in the state was precisely the Campechano Railroad. Carvajal obtained the state concession for a public service that aimed to connect the capital with the Chenes region

Today, thanks to a restoration carried out in 2000, Hacienda Santa Uayamón, rescued and renewed, opened its doors as a hotel. The restoration returned the property to its historical splendor, offering visitors a unique experience that combines architectural charm with modern comfort. Thus, the old hacienda, a witness to changes in history and industry, found a new life as a refuge that celebrates its rich heritage.