Today, the city has added to its old and rich traditions by becoming an oasis of high technologies in the middle of northeastern Brazil.
The town
Campina Grande reached the category of town in 1790 with more than 100 houses. On April 6, 1790 it changed its name to de Vila Nova da Rainha (New Village of the Queen). At this point the town also began to have a formal government made up of a town council and Notary's office.
Although the name of the town changed, the local inhabitants continued to call the place Campina Grande. However, in official documents the name, de Vila Nova da Rainha, was the only one used.
The town's development was spurred on by the growth of the regional cotton industry which preferred to ship its product through Campina Grande.
At this point the town included a large area of almost 900 km²,including many smaller villages in the area.
The creation of the Village of Cabaceiras in 1835 and the Village of Alagoa Nova in 1850 reduced the area Campina Grande controlled.
In 1829, a dam across the Piabas stream was started and this became the lake referred to as Açude Velho. In 1852 the population of the town had reached 17,900 people, but in 1856, an epidemic killed almost 1,550 people. So many bodies arrived at the churches that they didn't have enough room to bury them.
On October 11, 1864 Campina Grande was raised to the category of city. It was not the first to reach this designation though. In 1846, Areia had been designated a city and dominated the region economically, politically and culturally. Although Campina Grande was not as established as Areia, it was really not any smaller than that city. At this time, the city of Campina Grande had three plazas, four streets and about 300 houses. Of these, there still exist today the two churches: the Matriz (the Cathedral) and the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. The latter had been
