Stirling Dickinson left a legacy in the Heart of San Miguel de Allende

Published December 1, 2024

This legacy continues to thrive through his name and charitable works by founding the Biblioteca, Bellas Artes, Instituto Allende, Patronato Pro-niños and Baseball.

Stirling Dickinson (1909-1998)

William Stirling Dickinson, known as Stirling Dickinson, was born in Chicago, USA on December 22, 1909 and died in a car accident near San Miguel Allende, Gto., on October 29, 1998.

He lived much of his life in San Miguel de Allende, Gto. He is one of the first members of what would become a colony of expatriate US artists living in this beautiful colonial city. Author of “Mexican Odyssey” (1935), “Westward from Río” (1936), the novel “Death is Incidental” (1937).

Since he was a child he liked country life, sports and animals. In 1931 he graduated with honors from the School of Art and Archeology at Princeton University.

Between 1934 and 1935, together with Heath Bowman, whom he met at Princeton, they made a six-month tour of Mexico, traveling in a green Ford Model 1929 convertible called “Daisy”, which lasted six months, traveling 6,500 kilometers in 18 states of Mexico. .

This adventure became the book “Mexican Odyssey” (1935), with a prologue by a friend they had met during their trip: José Mojica, a very famous Mexican actor in the US, José Mojica. Mojica a Mexican film actor, tenor and Franciscan priest also lived in San Miguel de Allende, his house still sits near parque Juarez Casa Santa Monica.

Heath and Stirling published “Westward from Río” (1936), in which they recounted their adventures in South America.

José Mojica suggested they visit him in San Miguel de Allende and they immediately began to gather material for the novel “Death is Incidental” (1937), which would mark the end of his collaborative work with Heath Bowman, who was going to marry.

On February 7, 1937 he arrived in San Miguel de Allende.

He settled in an old tannery that he restored and converted into his home “Los Pocitos”, near Santo Domingo in San Miguel Allende, where he had 3,000 orchids of 250 species, making it the largest private collection of orchids in Mexico.

At that time, Peruvian painter Felipe Cossio del Pomar was doing the necessary paperwork to open a fine arts school in San Miguel and invited Stirling to participate in his project.

In 1938 he was appointed director of the San Miguel University School of Fine Arts, he prepared fields for the practice of sports, where he worked until his retirement in 1983.

He played first base and since he was from Chicago, where his favorite team was the “White Sox.”

On September 3, 1942, the 400th anniversary of the founding of San Miguel Allende, Gto., he became the first American resident in San Miguel and the only one to receive the title of Favorite Adopted Son; Some think that he was the first American to settle in our city, but that honor belongs to Mr. Martin Beckmann, a jeweler of German origin.

When the United States entered World War II, he enlisted to serve in the Office of Naval Intelligence and later in the Office of Strategic Services.

In December 1945 he returned to San Miguel, bringing with him the first jeep that had been sold to a civilian.
On August 12, 1950, he was deported along with five American teachers and the Canadian couple Leonard and Reva Brooks, the official reason being that they did not have adequate work visas to work in San Miguel Allende, Gto.

In 1954 he supported the founding of the Public Library, donated books and collaborated in establishing scholarships for students.

In 1969 in Chiapas he discovered a new yellow orchid that bears his name: the Encyclia Dickinsoniana, which was part of a collection of postal stamps issued by Correos de México in 1997. He was fond of baseball, orchids and his tireless volunteer work with various San Miguel institutions, such as the Public Library and the Patronato Pro-Niños Board.

On October 29, 1998, after attending a meeting, his van crashed into the Cañadita de los Aguacates. Before leaving the Library, he had asked them to think about who they would dedicate the altar of the dead to that year.

Upon his death, one of his baseball players, José Sánchez, founded the Society of Friends of Dickinson A.C. to preserve his legacy.

A street in San Miguel Allende is named after him.

The Stirling Dickinson Baseball Stadium in San Miguel Allende was named after him.

John Virtue author of the book “Model American abroad: a biography of Stirling Dickinson” (2008) wrote: “I interviewed 86 people to write this book, not a single one of them had anything bad to say about Stirling.”

“There was just enough light so I could see the Parish emerging from the mist.  And I thought: Oh my God, what a view!  What a place!  And at that moment I said to myself: “I’m going to stay here.”
(Stirling Dickinson upon arrival at San Miguel, February 7, 1937.)

Research and Translation by;
Efrain Gonzalez Espinoza
Somos Language and Art Center
San Miguel de Allende GTO