Museo Etnológico del Aceite

About the museum

The Museo Etnológico del Aceite in Cañaveral de León occupies the former Molino de Márquez, also known as the Molino de Don Carmelo after its last private owner. It was built around 1805 by Tomás Márquez Jarillo, a native of Encinasola who settled in the village, bought and planted olive groves, and decided to build an oil mill to grind his own harvest. The machinery was acquired in Seville, and the millstone, the roller and the press beam (alfarje) were transported from the Cala mines by a yoke of oxen.

The mill operated for more than a century and a half, until the 1960s, when it stopped working owing, among other things, to rural depopulation. Badly deteriorated, it was fully restored at the start of the 21st century by the town council and opened as a museum in 2008. It was one of the first initiatives of its kind in the province of Huelva and is linked to oil tourism (oleoturismo). The building is now also shared with the municipal library.

The mill stands next to La Laguna for a practical reason: water from this pond was channelled through pipes to the large tanks set into the ground, where the oil rose to the surface while impurities settled below. The water was also used to wash the utensils. On the same street, the Calleja del Agua, two other mills survive: the Tío Antón (oil) and the Rodezno (flour).

Highlights

• Original olive-press machinery: torva, press beam, millstone, beater and presses
• Oil tanks, earthenware jars, pressing mats (capachos) and clay jugs of the period
• Original electrical panel and motor of the mill
• Location next to La Laguna, whose water was used in the process
• Downloadable audioguide and illustrated document on the municipal website

Permanent exhibition

• Museo Etnológico del Aceite – Tour of the preserved oil mill, with the machinery and the implements for grinding and pressing olives that show how it worked.

Founded

2008

Operated by

Ayuntamiento de Cañaveral de León

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is next to La Laguna, in the centre of the village and beside the town hall (Calle Pantano, 1).

Amenities & dining

The municipal library operates in the same building.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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