The General Obregon House Museum

This unique museum in Huatabampo, Sonora offers a glimpse into the life of one of Sonora’s most accomplished sons, Mexican General and President Alvaro Obregon Sacido, in a location where Obregon had lived.

The house was built in 1895, and General Obregon bought it in 1904, adding a second floor to make it the only two-story building in Huatabampo at that time. In 1907 his wife Refugio died from complications of childbirth, and Obregon’s sisters moved into the house to help take care of his two children.

Obregon left Huatabampo in 1912 to serve during the Mexican Revolution, leaving his sisters and children at the home. He married Maria Tapia in 1916 and after the revolution he began his political campaign in Nogales for the office of president of the Republic of Mexico.

General Obregon served as president of Mexico from 1920 – 1924, after which he returned to Sonora. He won re-election in 1928, but was assassinated in July 1928 at the age of 48, before he could take office. Read more about the life of Alvaro Obregon.

The Obregon House was sold to the bank in 1958 and was purchased by a bank employee, Teófilo Villegas, who rented the house to various families until it eventually deteriorated and was abandoned.

Mr. Villegas was going to demolish the structure, but Dr. Rodolfo Moreno Gamez, the municipal president of Huatabampo, convinced him to sell it to the state of Sonora. Then-governor Samuel Ocaña Garcia authorized the purchase of the house for one million pesos, and the state began to renovate the property in 1987.

The building was opened the following year as a local cultural center where workshops were held in music, theater and visual arts. But not long after that it was decided that the house should become a museum in honor of General Obregon.

Maestro Emilio López Robles was put in charge of the project, and Ana Silvia Laborin Abascal from the state museum, along with Professor Salvador Mendoza Moroyoqui, initiated the investigation and collection of objects for the museum.

The museum opened in 1989 with Director Manuel de Jesus Reyes in charge. In July of that year the family of General Obregon donated his 1927 Cadillac, in which he had survived a bombing attempt on his life on September 13, 1927. The Cadillac is on permanent display in the back courtyard of the home.

The Obregon House Museum is an interesting place to visit, especially for those who are interested in the life of this great man. The museum is in six display areas in the two stories of the house, each one with a theme related to the life and history of General Obregon that encompass his family life, role in the Mexican Revolution, his campaign for president and his assassination.

Even if you do not speak Spanish, the photos and displays are interesting beyond words, making this a must-see when you are in Huatabampo, Sonora.