HISTORY OF GARRUCHA
According to a 1327 Castilian chronicle about raiding troops in the Kingdom of Granada, there was a small village on the Almeria coast called Almoraic, close to Mojácar and Vera. This is perhaps the first historical reference to Garrucha. Both Vera and Mojácar fought for control of Garrucha until its declaration as an independent municipality in 1861, although this was delayed while a Vera Commission paid a visit to Queen Isabel II. The Catholic Monarchs immediately had to mediate by establishing a tax under which a fixed fee was charged for each load of fish sold in the port; the collection obtained was distributed proportionally between the two competing towns.
During the Nazari period, a tower was constructed near the sea to protect fishermen during Christian raids, which were frequent at the time due to the spot’s proximity to the Kingdom of Murcia. In 1518, it was destroyed by an earthquake. The port was of great importance, and was used to supply the national army after the Christian conquest of 1488. Despite this commercial tradition, it was not inhabited due to the continuous incursions of Berber pirates.
The discovery, in 1838, of silver in the river Jaroso in nearby Cuevas de Almanzora initiated the mining fever of the province of Almería. The port of Garrucha was a principal trading outlet for the ore mined inland.
An overhead cable route was constructed from El Pinar de Bédar to the port of Garrucha in 1887, and the mine railway followed in 1890. Following the development of these services to support industry, Garrucha became a significant holiday destination for wealthy families, becoming known as the ¨little San Sebastián¨. For a long time, it was the home of vice-consuls from ten different countries.
To resume the iron extraction works of Bédar, paralyzed since the 1930s, the company Hierros de Garrucha was established in 1953, and an aerial cable way was built between 1954-1956 that moved ore from the mine hoppers to the Los Gallardos dump, where it was again loaded onto trucks to be driven to Garrucha by road. It was stored there in large hoppers, before being transferred to the port by means of a 700m long aerial cable way. A mobile conveyor belt then loaded the materials onto ships. This intricate mining activity was halted in 1970 and the cable and its towers were dismantled.
