History of Limeira

It is said that in 1781 a caravan was headed to the wilds of Araraquara and while passing through Limeira, camped near the stream of the Bladder – Córrego do Bexiga (where today is the Market Model). In this caravan there was a Franciscan, Fr. João das Mercês, which carried a picuá de limas (a kind of lime orange), which claimed to cure and prevent fevers.

But at night he began to feel ill, blaming the limas which he said had been poisoned. Eventually he died during the night and the next day he would have been buried there, along with his Picuá de Lima’s that no one wanted to eat because could be poisoned, as he said. Then there would have sprung a lime tree, born from the limes of the Fr. João das Mercês. Years later, the Blue Hill Ranch (Rancho do Morro Azul) would be called the Ranch of the Lime Orange Tree (Rancho de Limeira).

Historical facts

Limeira came in cleared land near the path known as the Picadão de Cuiabá, road flow of troops who were trading and sourcing supplies to the mines of Mato Grosso.

From the observation of standard trees (indicating the fertility of the land) that existed along the road in still virgin lands, planters and noble farmers that were living in ‘Cidade da Constituição’ (town of the Constitution, today Piracicaba), Itu, Porto Feliz and Atibaia, know where the best lands were and managed to gain allotments from the provincial government