During the 19th century, the town and area grew and prospered from its agriculture. The first stage of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Solitude was finished in 1819. The state's Instituto Literario was founded here but was moved to the city of Zacatecas in 1837. The Hinojosa Theater was built in 1869. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the area had a population of about 12,000 inhabitants. The haciendas around Jerez were some of the most productive in the region, although no railroads were built through here to take goods to market, instead they were sent to city of Zacatecas. Also around this time two of the town's noted artists were born, Ramón López Velarde in 1888 and Máximo Pérez Torres in 1899.