Serón is a town in the province of Almería, Andalusia, Spain. It has an area of 167 km² and a population density of 14.5 inhabitants per km². Its geographic coordinates are 37º 20' N, 2º 30' W. It is located at an elevation of 822 meters and 127 kilometers from the province’s capital. The township’s economy is mainly based on the agriculture and food industry favored by a microclimate suitable for natural curing of sausages and ham.
Serón’s Prehistory
• Cave Culture • The caves inhabited during the Paleolithic period were adapted to the climatic rigors, and were abandoned during the Mesolithic period. This was due to the mild weather of the time. They were once again inhabited in the Neolithic period.
At la Sarna Cave, remains of copper weapons and stone objects were found; at el Palo Cave, arrow tips and ceramic objects; and at Morciguilla Cave, human remains, copper weapons and clay pots. Megalithic Culture.
Megalithic Culture.
• Necropolis at El Marchal • Another important copper age archaeological site is located at el Palo Cave (Jórvila). Arrow tips, necklace beads, sharp objects and wrist guards, ceramic and stone material and a small idol have turned up there.
Roman period
• Serón • It is cited by the classics, according to Pablo J.M. it is said that Serón’s Roman name is derived from "Serius".
Primitive Serón was part of the last Gothic kingdom of Count Teodomiro, falling into the hands of the Muslims at the end of the 8th century. Starting in the 13th century, it became a field of fortifications to protect themselves from the Christians.
Current town
It seems to be more recent, its construction possibly dates back to the 14th century, adopting the name "Cerrón". In this epoch, it must have been an important fortress that the population clustered around. This strategic-military history would be a constant in its history. This is what Nazarite King Yusuf I declared in 1347 when he visited the Eastern part of his kingdom.
An historic episode was inserted in between the continuous border wars that Christians and Muslims waged against each other before the conquest of Granada: The Bride of Serón •.
It was the year 1478 when some knights from Lorca arrived in Fuencaliente where they saw a procession of Moors who accompanied a beautiful young Moorish woman who was going to marry the mayor of Baza.
The knights defeated the Moors and kidnapped the bride. She begged them to leave her alone, and they returned her to her father. Because of this action, the Moorish woman gave the Christians the jewels she was wearing for the wedding, and since then, this bride made a big influence on relations between local Moors and Christians.
In 1489, Serón, together with the Almanzora Valley would capitulate to the Catholic Monarchs, and become part of the Crown of Castile. According to the capitulations of the town’s inhabitants, they remained Mudejars and kept their rights and traditions.
This situation lasted until 1492, the date when the town of Serón, together with Tíjola, Bayarque and Aldeire were ceded in dominion to the Marquis of Villena. With the Moorish uprising in 1569, Abén Humeya near the Serón who had to capitulate and surrender. The insurgent Moors did not honor the agreement and passed out knives to the population over age 12.
In 1570, Don John of Austria lead a powerful army to conquer Serón. At the so-called • Hill of the Dead•, he suffered a big defeat, and his guardian, Luis de Quijada was mortally wounded.
Then he regrouped the army, and after a bloody battle, he managed to conquer Serón and avenge his guardian’s death.
Once peace was reestablished, and the Moors were expelled, their possessions were divided up among the new Castilian settlers, according to Serón’s book of Surveys. Plans were then made to endow the town with a dignified church which would be built in the 17th century and named Iglesia de Ntra. Sra. de la Asunción.
The following centuries went by quietly. The population was devoted to herding and working. Serón returned to the limelight at the end of the 19th century when exploitation of Las Menas iron mine began.
This meant an economic and social boom for the town. They built the shrine and the buildings for the settlement of Las Menas. These buildings were erected according to a hierarchical criterion: the directors’ homes are located on the North side of the town, on the highest ground, then the office buildings, service buildings and the miners’ homes in an intermediate area, the workshops on the low ground, near the mine entrances.
20th Century
It is dynamic because of the historical circumstances that occurred in Serón, its population, due to the mining boom, would double. This population was distributed throughout the municipal district in numerous neighborhoods.
Roughly speaking, it is possible to distinguish several phases in the exploitation of the region’s greatest economic resource. The era with the greatest splendor was between 1900 and 1936. This was the period during which the mining companies were consolidated.
After the Spanish Civil War, and especially after 1943, production intensified, and the upsurge remained steady until it was finally shut down in 1968. This was due to a progressive reduction in labor, the technical difficulties encountered and the drop in the price of iron.
The disappearance in mining activity would be the cause for the demographic retreat and abandonment of towns, especially mining towns, thus giving rise to a big wave of emigration.
The Area Today
The population is mainly devoted to the meat processing industry (sausage making and salting and drying ham), livestock, agricultures and construction companies.
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