In this room, visitors can learn about the Congregation of Our Lady of Sorrows, its founding, and its establishment in the town of Dolores. Information is also provided about the various uses the house has had over time.

At the center of the room stands a carved wooden sculpture from the current artisanal tradition of San Miguel de Allende. It depicts the over three-year journey (1742–1745) during which the image of Our Lady of Sorrows was carried on a donkey through the towns and villages of the Bajío region, collecting alms to fund the construction of the parish church.

On display are some personal belongings of Father Hidalgo, including silver-rimmed spectacles, a cross, and a silver medallion, all items he used in daily life.

This room explores the family origins and early years of Miguel Hidalgo. On the right side of the room, reference is made to his maternal family, who were educated people. Their legacy is represented through objects such as a table, a chair, and an inkwell, as well as a reproduction of the parish book where Hidalgo recorded baptisms during his time in Dolores.

On the opposite side, the display focuses on his paternal family, who were farmers and rural workers. This is illustrated through branding irons, horse tack like spurs and bits, and farming tools. At the center of the room is a baptismal record alluding to the early life of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.

Despite the Spanish Crown’s strict control over the colonies' customs and ports, Hidalgo assembled an extensive library with many volumes smuggled into New Spain. He spent long hours reading, particularly drawn to French literature.

In colonial times, homes typically featured a main hall where guests were received. This space was outfitted with the finest furniture: armchairs, silver and bronze candleholders, multicolored rugs and cushions from the East, as well as pianos and guitars to liven up gatherings during the afternoon refreshments, games, and conversation.

This room recreates a typical colonial living room with furnishings and objects from the 19th and 20th centuries.

It was in this very setting that, in the early morning hours of September 16, 1810, Father Hidalgo, along with Allende and Aldama, decided not to wait any longer and launched the movement for Independence.

Since bathrooms as we know them did not exist, items for personal hygiene—such as washbasins, pitchers, and chamber pots—were kept in the bedroom. Crucifixes were commonly placed above the bed, along with paintings of saints depending on the occupant’s devotions. Trunks, in use since the 17th century, served to store linens and personal belongings (wardrobes came into fashion a century later). Beds were typically wool-filled mattresses laid on wooden platforms.

This room presents a period-style bedroom, similar to what Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla might have used, although this is not its original location.

This room covers the events that unfolded after the Cry of Dolores and during the time Father Hidalgo took up arms. It was a period in which he transformed from priest to revolutionary leader, until his execution in Chihuahua on July 30, 1811.

Among the objects on display is an oil painting titled "Father Hidalgo with the Patrol", painted in 1900 by Anastasio Vargas; the desk where Hidalgo signed an ultimatum to Intendant Riaño on September 28, 1810; reproductions of banners used in the early phase of the armed struggle; and a selection of weapons from the period, including muskets, rifles, machetes, farming tools, and slingshots.

It was not until the late 18th century that the dining room emerged as a separate architectural space distinct from the kitchen, and it was typically used on special occasions.

This room recreates a dining area from the era and is, in fact, the original dining space of the house.

On display are 18th-century paintings and reproductions of chairs originally from this home.

Few things are more familiar than the preparation of daily meals. Around the hearth, women in colonial Mexico worked culinary wonders, crafting dishes from a wide array of ingredients native to the Americas—maize, chili peppers, beans, squash, tomatoes, chayote, avocados, guavas, mamey, chocolate, and vanilla, among others.

Bread was a staple in the meals served to Father Hidalgo, his family, guests, and household staff. Those in need could always count on a bowl of soup or a warm stew in this kitchen. The 1810 rebellion was born in the warmth of this space, accompanied by steaming chocolate and small rolls that invigorated the first leaders of the insurgency.

The war disrupted the kitchen. With the collapse of the tithe system, food supplies in Dolores dwindled. Instead of chocolate with cinnamon, the military hospital (installed in the former tithe warehouse) served fava bean porridge, beans, and stale bread.

This room recreates the kitchen as it would have appeared in the early 19th century. Most objects are contemporary reproductions, though some utensils are original from the time.

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was enshrined by 19th-century historians and artists as the “Father of the Nation,” becoming the central hero of Mexico’s pantheon. However, this wasn’t always the case. In the early years following independence, Hidalgo was recognized as the initiator of the fight for freedom, but the scars of the civil war (1810–1821)—with around 844 battles and an estimated 600,000 to 1 million deaths—remained fresh.

In 1849, the Liberal Party adopted Hidalgo as a symbol of republican and democratic ideals. In 1865, Emperor Maximilian commissioned a series of historical paintings, including a portrait of Hidalgo by Joaquín Ramírez. In it, the priest appears as a dignified elderly man at his writing desk, portrayed as a thoughtful intellectual and legislator.

During the Porfirian era, Hidalgo was exalted as a patriotic model, and his elderly image was emphasized, even though he was only 57 in 1810—a strong man used to riding long distances, accustomed to farm labor, and fond of hunting and bullfighting.

This space was originally the tithe warehouse, later repurposed during the War of Independence. Today, it is a place of homage to Miguel Hidalgo, and the museum uses this room to reflect on how his image as Father of the Nation was constructed over time.

On display are several 19th- and 20th-century oil paintings, including "The Allegory of Independence" (1834), "Portrait of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla" (1865), and a medallion with portraits of Hidalgo, Morelos, Guerrero, Matamoros, Allende, and Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, painted by Anastasio Vargas in 1900. Original items from the house, such as a 19th-century door and window, are also exhibited.

Also featured is a funerary urn with silver medallions containing bone fragments of Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende, and José María Morelos, along with another urn housing the remains of insurgent and city chronicler Pedro García (1790–1873).