Name
The word “Jalpan” has its origin of ‘Náhuatl’ voice and means ‘place on the sand’ (‘Xalli’ = sand and ‘pan’ = over). In 1976 the name of the city was changed from “Jalpan” to “Jalpan de Serra” in honor of Friar Junípero Serra.

Jalpan de Serra’s shield of arms
Jalpan de Serra’s shield of arms symbolizes the history of its founding as a Franciscan Mission on April 21, 1744 by Captain Jose de Escandón y Helguera. This is depicted with four elements: the goddess Cachúm carved in stone and embodying idolatry; the sword and the shield of the idle, representing pacification and evangelization by Escandón and the Order of Franciscans missionaries lead by Friar Junípero Serra; the two-headed eagle devouring a snake, embodying a merger of two races: the Spanish and the Chichimeca-Pame; and the Mission of Jalpan, signifying the construction of the Jalpan and Tancoyol Missions.

History
The first inhabitants were of Olmec descent. From the thirteenth century the Pames Indians came into contact with local residents and learned to cultivate the land.

In 1537, the Spaniards began to conquer the Sierra Gorda by sending Dominican, Franciscan and Augustinian missionaries to promote evangelism and build missions with mud and straw.

In 1743, Jose de Escandón began the military pacification of the land by defeating the Chichimecas in the battle of the ‘Media Luna.’ In 1744 the town of Jalpan was founded and Jalpan, Landa, Tilaco, Tancoyol and Conca Missions began construction thanks to the participation of the Franciscan College of San Fernando.

In 1750, Friar Junípero Serra arrived at the Mission of Jalpan together with Francisco Palou, who began the noble feat of socially and spiritually integrating the Indians of the Sierra.

During the period of Mexican Independence, an important insurgent movement commanded by captain Elosúa began in Jalpan, but it was defeated by the military in 1819 and all houses and cellars were burned. In 1880, a gravel road linking to the capital was constructed to promote economic development in the area. In 1904, Jalpan de Serra was recognized as a city.

In just four decades it has recovered what it lost and also surpassed the havoc of the battles, thanks to its spirit of conservation it has won the name of Jalpan the “Hearth of Sierra Gorda Queretana”