It was certainly in the first half of the 16th century, during the reign of king Manuel I of Portugal (1495-1521) that the parish of São Marcos arose, given that it was this monarch who undertook the entire reorganization of the administration of the territory and conferred the new charters on the Portuguese cities and towns.

[6][7] The victory of the liberal revolution made São Marcos da Serra benefit from all the changes, namely with the arrival of the railroad that brought with it the development of this modest village, resulting in the emergence of an industry (gristmills), complementary equipment (inn), and a new cemetery.

The 1950 Portuguese census marks the highest number of inhabitants São Marcos da Serra ever had until then, with a record-high 4,179 population assessed at the time.

The construction of a new two-room primary school in the mid-twentieth century reflects a population that was already stabilized, but that would soon feel the weight of people's flight to both coastal cities and as emigrants abroad.

Although these allegedly paranormal events resulted in pilgrimages by some faithful to northern Algarve, the Holy See has never officially recognized these so-called Marian apparitions.

[5] A landscaped space, the square is bordered by the church, across from the health center, while a statue of António Bernardino Ramos, a celebrated physician and respected inhabitant of the village, is located at its centre.

São Marcos da Serra is a main supplier of cork, as well as a producer of grain cereals, including wheat, barley and oats, at one time supported by several traditional windmills that dotted the civil parish landscape.

Light industry is primarily involved in supporting agricultural extraction, but also include the production of the Arbutus brandy (medronho), Comel, a spirit distilled locally.

[15] Although having a few grocery stores, cafés, restaurants and shops, as well as a local branch of the Portuguese bank Caixa de Crédito Agrícola which includes an on-site Multibanco automated teller machine, the village of São Marcos da Serra is a satellite village of the larger and better developed town of São Bartolomeu de Messines where an active train station is found as well as nationally renowned supermarket, bank and insurance branches and a wider diversity of other shops and services.