Torrinha - History

History

The occupation and settlements where today is located in the municipality of Torrinha, have been shaped by the advancement of frontiers of colonization towards interior of the country in the search for wealth. In the 17th and 18th centuries this portion of the Sao Paulo area was cut by paths of tropeiros and travelers who made their landing. With the need for supplies of food, supplies and services ranging from repairs, emerged fledgling business and service delivery, enabling the establishment of the first settlers of the region and the formation of populated areas.

This process of occupation intensified with the donation of Sesmarias which gave way and outlined the major farms, embryos of future urban areas. The Land Law of 1850 benefited from the arrival of people from other regions of the country that we have established themselves with subsistence farming in areas near the small village in training.

Through documents and records, it is known that some families torrinhenses has lived here since 1850. That way we can say that the families Fonseca Costa, Mello, Dias, Ferreira, Ferraz, Gomes, Ribeiro del Prado, Dias Ramos, Carvalho, Franco de Moraes, Souza, Barros, Teixeira, Milk, Marques, Paiva, France, Pinto, Melchert, Barbosa, Bueno are considered pioneers.

Historically, Jose Antunes de Oliveira is considered the founder of Torrinha, they've donated to the Bishopric of Sao Paulo a small area where a chapel was built in honor of San Jose (where the current matrix), considered the patron saint of the city. It is estimated that this was around 1870, i.e., nineteen years before the Republic.

In 1880, documents of the time, record the arrival of Jerome Martins Coelho, grandson of Lord of Cocais, Coming from the Edge of Mata, Minas Gerais, we have acquired large amounts of land that reached the localities of Santa Maria da Serra, Torrinha, Brotas Two and streams. It was installed for a long time on land where today is the Power Plant of the Three Jumps and built this ranch one of the first Presbyterian churches of the state.

During this period other families were coming and the village was acquiring life and with the arrival of Pope Benedict Lacerda, who was the son of the Baron de Araras, Benedict Lacerda Guimaraes and Mrs. Manuel Franco, in 1886, the little village has become more prominent. Benedict Lacerda had just returned to their homeland, coming from Germany, where he studied at the Polytechnic University of Hannover, specializing in chemical and mining. Accepted the challenge and came to work on the land purchased by Baron. It became one of the most important figures in the history of the city. To him is attributed the creation of the District Police in 1892 and District of Peace in 1896.

The economic development of this region began building around the 19th century with the introduction of sugar culture. The cultivation of sugar cane in the city of Torrinha due to its proximity of the areas of sugar Piracicaba, Araraquara and San Carlos. Meanwhile local conditions did not favor the permanence of that culture. The cycle of sugar cane spurred the settlement and colonization, favoring the introduction of coffee growing and encouraging the arrival of immigrants.

The coffee culture has been introduced in the city at the end of the 19th century and its development is associated with the construction of the railroad company Paulista de Estradas de Ferro, inaugurated on September 7, 1886 under the name of railway station of Santa Maria and later Torrinha.

The station represented the largest force in the development of the city that needed a means of disposal and filing of its main agricultural product, coffee, but also has allowed for the transport of passengers between them immigrants.