Oral history tells that the name of "Sierra" is related to one of the first resources the town took advantage of, wood. The Spanish word "sierra" means "saw." Residents developed sawmills once they knew about the valuable and precious woods in the area. By the year 1900, the gold mining industry had started up in Abangares but mostly in Sierra, were the Abangares Gold Fields of Costa Rica own by Minor C. Keith, built up the Stamp mill House, the Company Headquarters and the Powder House. The ore activity carried vast development. By that time, people compared La Sierra development with California.
The Mining Ecomuseum is located on 38 hectares of local government property and managed by the district Committee of Culture and Management of Museums. It documents and celebrates one of the first mining centers in Central America, and the legends and realities that the miners of the time lived in. The recent built showroom displays graphic and documentary information. Various paths explain the mining infrastructure, which preserves the spirit of the mining years. The “Ecomuseum” idea arose in France in the 1970s. In Costa Rica it was adopted in the 1980s, when Ecomuseum Mines of Abangares was created. It's an educational model of culture and sustainable development that integrates inhabitants with rational resource use, and ecological protection and cultural protection. The Eco-museum was developed around the ruins of one of the oldest gold mines in the region, where old machinery, hand tools, and infrastructure can still be seen. The surrounding area is largely forested and provides opportunities for bird and butterfly watching, and other nature observation. It is a community organization that conserves and transmits local history, and strengthens the identity of the towns. In 2001, it was declared a Historical Architectonic Patrimony. The Ecomuseum is in an area that holds evidence of the biggest scale of gold mining in Costa Rica, where the Company “Abangares Gold Fields of Costa Rica” operated. It contains an outdoor exhibition of mining machinery, paths that lead to the ruins of an old stamp mill house, “Edificio de los Mazos,” “Casa de la Pólvora,” and great natural scenery. There is a Tunnel on a historical traverse, where Tulita, a steam locomotive, pulled ore wagons.
Economy
The major activities are agriculture, Gold mining and Tourism. At the moment, gold mining is artisanal and largely unregulated. Agriculture and mining are the most traditional activities and ways of living in the district. All over the highlands small producers of coffee and vegetables are organized in cooperatives. The Ecomuseum, the biodiversity, and the hot springs are attracting tourism from all over the world to the district. La Sierra is between Guanacaste and San José, and between Guanacaste and Monteverde. Tourism can include staying in La Sierra and using a non traditional tourist route to Guanacaste, with local options including zip lining, agritourism, visiting the Ecomuseum, seeking out local gold miners, or resting at the hot springs.
