In the 18th century, the City Council purchased a plot of land owned by María Jimena, an indigenous woman from Querétaro, for the construction of the Royal Houses and Town Hall, which was completed in 1770. This building witnessed the beginnings of independence, as on September 13, 1810, the corregidora Josefa Ortíz de Domínguez was imprisoned there and sent word of the danger to the priest of Dolores, Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. After independence, in 1821, the building was designated as the State Government Palace. In 1856, its archives were looted by the troops of Tomás Mejía. In 1868, the State Government Offices were moved to the building they still occupy today, on the corner of Madero and Ocampo, and the Plaza Mayor building was designated as the Municipal Palace when José María Iglesias established his government in 1876.