a glyph for a comal and the ceramic dog figures that characterize Colima. The first humans to Colima were estimated to arrive around 3,000 years ago. The area has evidence of Olmec, Nahua, Toltec and Chichimeca habitation or influence. However, after the 12th century, the dominant culture here was the Purépecha culture until the Spanish arrived. The town of Comala has pre Hispanic roots along with neighboring Suchitlán and Zacualtipan in the municipality. After the Conquest, the Comala area became an encomienda under Bartolomé López in 1527. The area was evangelized by the Franciscans, establishing the chapel of Ajuchitlán. By 1554, the villages of Comala, Suchitlán and Zacualpan were officially established under Spanish rule. Sometime before 1815, it became a semi autonomous Indian Republic with its own governor. It became a municipality in 1820 with Cayetano Pizarro as the first mayor under Spanish law, and again in 1857 under that year's constitution. It has conserved this political organization to the present day. In 1883, a German businessman by the name of Arnold Vogel established the first coffee plantation in the municipality. This plantation would spur agricultural and industrial development in the area. The first electrical plant in the state of Colima called El Remate was built in 1906, supplying electricity to Comala, Colima and Villa de Alvarez. A train line connecting the city of Colima to the Cerro Grande to ship lumber began to function in 1910. Suchitlán was the site of the area's first ejido in 1918. The Cristero War in the mid 1920s was particularly divisive in the state of Colima. The municipality has two strongholds of Cristeros, those who opposed the liberal reforms of the area against the Catholic Church. One was located in the Cerro Grande and the other near the edge of the Colima Volcano. In 1961, the town decided to paint itself white as a way to distinguish itself from the surrounding communities. Today, it is filled with structures with white walls and red tile roofs. The Vasco de Quiroga School of Social Work was established in the town, the first of its kind in the state. The Escuela de Artesanías con Diseños (School of Handcrafts with Design) was established in 1969, and the Centro Estatal de Menors was established in 1981. The historic center of the town was declared a Historic Monument Zone by presidential decree in 1988. In the 1990s, the Zacualpan-