The name means "Place of the Polos", in memory of the family that fought in the Mexican War of Independence.

[1] Because of the lack of water supplies and the cold, this area was not permanently settled prior to the arrival of the Spanish.

Only around the beginning of the 18th century is there evidence of permanent communities here, as the ranches managed little by little to transform the topography with irrigation techniques.

In 1878, the current name of Polotitlán de la Ilustración was adopted[1] after General Porfirio Díaz called it this when he visited in 1876.

[3] The most notable construction in the town is a "Porfirian-style" bandstand crowned with a clocktower that faces the 4 directions.