History of Sao Jose do Rio Preto

was officially established as a municipality, with the emancipation from Jaboticabal. The newly created city had around 26,000 km². With the arrival of the railroad, the Estrada de Ferro Araraquarense, in 1912, the city became the commercial center of the region, stocking and radiating the goods from the region and the state capital.

Origin of the Name

The literal translation is "Saint Joseph of the Black River". The city's name origin comes from the fact that Saint Joseph (São José) is the patron saint of the city, and the Rio Preto (Black river) cuts the city lands. A wooden sculpture of Saint Joseph wearing boots belongs to the city cathedral and no one knows for sure where it came from, but is in the city since it was a village in the 19th century, part of the city of Araraquara.

People believe that migrants from the state of Minas Gerais brought the sculpture with them in the 19th century, and that is the origin of part of the name. The river was believed black because there was a dense forest in the area, and even though the water was clear, the darkness made the river looks black. March 19, Rio Preto's birthday, is Saint Joseph's Day and a holiday in the city.

Between 1906 and 1944, the name was shortened to "Rio Preto" and in 1944 there was a proposal for changing the city's name to "Iboruna" (Black river in Tupi language), but the name returned to the current form.