Santa Bárbara d'Oeste is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
State of São Paulo
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
in Brazil. It is part of the
Metropolitan Region of Campinas
The Metropolitan Region of Campinas () is an administrative division of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It was created in 2000, and consists of the following municipalities:
* Americana
*Artur Nogueira
*Campinas
* Cosmópolis
* Engenheiro Coe ...
. It lies about northwest of the State capital. It occupies an area of , of which is urban.
In 2020, the population was estimated at 194,390 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, making it the 43rd most populous city in São Paulo and the sixth largest in the metropolitan region of Campinas.
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste has an annual average temperature of , and the original vegetation of the area predominates. The city has an urbanization rate of 98.73%. As of 2009, there were 44 medical institutions in the city, and its
human development index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
(HDI) is rated as 0.819 in relation to the rest of the state.
Founded on 4 December 1818, when the Church was built, the city was named in honor of its patron saint, Santa Barbara, it was originally part of
Piracicaba
Piracicaba ( ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality located in the Interior of São Paulo, interior of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. It serves as the main city ...
. It separated from Piracicaba in 1900. Since Margaret Grace Martins donated the land for the construction of the townsite, she is considered the founder, making the city the first and only Brazilian city founded by a woman.
The city is also the birthplace of Brazil's
automobile
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
industry, being where the first car was produced in Brazil.
Today, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste is subdivided into slightly more than 130 districts.
Santa Bárbara d'Oeste has an important cultural tradition, ranging from craft and theater, to music and sports. American immigration has brought various influences on both cultural and tourist events and attractions, including the ''Party of Immigration'', and the ''Fair of Nations''. In the midst of the city is a cemetery, best known as the ''Graveyard of the
Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
''. It is administered by the ''Fraternity of American Descendants'', who regularly hold meetings and events aimed at preserving the traditions and customs of American immigrants.
[]]
History
Origins
Until around 1810, the area where the city of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste now stands was
Old-growth forest, virgin forest. That year, a road was constructed, linking the parish of Santo Antônio de Piracicaba to Villa de San Carlos de Campinas. With these improvements, the area turned into a good agricultural region due to its plentiful water sources, leading to the region being broken into allotments and put up for sale.
Margaret Grace Martins, widow of sergeant major Francisco de Paula Martins, bought one of those allotments, measuring two leagues square, whose boundaries were the Piracicaba river to the north and by Quilombo Creek to the northeast. On the site, she founded a sugar plantation, putting her son, Captain Manoel Francisco Grace Martins, in charge of administering the property. In 1818, she initiated the formation of a settlement and the construction of a chapel, dedicated to Saint Barbara. Martins donated the lands the city would develop on, making the town the first and only Brazilian city founded by a woman.
The chapel was dedicated on 4 December 1818, now considered to be the date of the town's founding.
As the area was settled, other farmers settled in and around the city. On 16 April 1839, the municipality rose to the position of ''Capela Curada de Santa Bárbara of Toledos''
(the name "Toledos" was added in reference to the stream that crossed the city, named Ribeirao of Toledos), and became the Fourth District of ''Vila Nova da Constituição'' (now the city of
Piracicaba
Piracicaba ( ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality located in the Interior of São Paulo, interior of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. It serves as the main city ...
).
Years later, the district of Santa Barbara was created by Provincial Law Number 9, on 18 February 1842, in addition, the chapel was elevated from a ''capela curada'', an official title given by the Catholic Church, to a ''
freguesia
(), usually translated as "parish" or "civil parish", is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Portuguese over ...
''.
It was then transferred on 23 January 1844, to become part of the municipality of Campinas, followed by a further transfer, by Provincial Law Number 12 on 2 March 1846, back to the Municipality of Piracicaba. Finally, by Provincial Law No. 2, on 15 June 1869 the municipality of Santa Barbara was officially created, parting from Piracicaba.
The Municipality has always been made up of a single district. The town was officially renamed Santa Bárbara d'Oeste on 30 November 1944.
20th and 21st centuries
The sugar industry boomed in the late 19th century due to the increase in the demand for sugar. At the time, large sugar mills were constructed in the city, such as the Plant de Cillo Santa Bárbara (now disabled). In the 1920s several industries emerged, including textiles and agricultural implements. Over the years, other industries moved into the area. Eventually, on 5 September 1956, the first Brazilian car, the Romi-Isetta, was released.
During the 1960s and 1970s, with the rapid development of the nearby settlement of
Americana
Americana may refer to:
*Americana music, a genre or style of American music
* Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States
Film, radio and television
* ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film
* ''Americana'' (20 ...
, many people came looking for jobs and housing. Due to the close proximity of the two municipalities, the area between them was settled, creating a
conurbation
A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...
. Initially there was some confusion, since the boundaries of the two towns were not officially set. The problem was solved with the creation of the Avenida da Amizade, which cut through the region, fixing the boundary between the two towns. The population expansion not only brought development, but also problems to the region, since it drained public accounts. This precipitated years of economic stagnation.
Since the 2000s, due to both public and private investment, the city is reaching an economic and social balance, becoming increasingly competitive in the metropolitan region of Campinas. Legal incentives for businesses that invest in the city were created, and the expansion of the
Rodovia dos Bandeirantes
The Rodovia Bandeirantes (official designation SP-348) is a highway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.
Once the traffic capacity of the Anhangüera Highway was exceeded in the 1960s, the state government decided to build another highway, with ...
, whose route passes through the municipality, has brought new opportunities for development.
Today, Santa Bárbara is one of the major economic forces in the metropolitan region of Campinas, with a good
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
. The city has a strong industrial character, and is home to companies such as Romi, Usina Furlan,
Goodyear, Canatiba, Mazak, and Denso. The city boasts good leisure facilities such as the Tivoli, which opened in November 1998, and is one of the main shopping malls and meeting points in the city with almost 700,000 visitors every month. It serves the population of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Americana,
Nova Odessa,
Sumaré
Sumaré is a city in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas. The population is 286,211 (2020 est.) in an area of 153.47 km2. The elevation is 583 m. Sumaré was founded in 1868, after being upgrad ...
and
Hortolândia, as well as the regions of Piracicaba and
Limeira
Limeira is a city in the eastern part of the Brazilian state of São Paulo. With a population of approximately 291,869 people (2022 IBGE.) and covering an area of 581 square kilometers, it sits at an elevation of 588 meters. The city is situated 1 ...
.
American immigration
After the end of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, beginning in 1867, the region began to see immigration from the southern United States, these immigrants were known as the
Confederados
''Confederados'' () is the Brazilian Portuguese, Brazilian name for Confederate States of America, Confederate expatriates, all white Southerners who fled the Southern United States during Reconstruction era, Reconstruction, and their Brazilian ...
. Along with their customs and cultures, the Americans brought new agricultural methods and techniques, contributing greatly to the advancement of agriculture in the region.
This contribution is celebrated at the
Immigration Museum
The Immigration Museum focuses on Melbourne and Victoria’s immigration history.
First opened in 1998 as a division of Museums Victoria, Immigration Museum is located at the restored Old Customs House Building on Flinders Street in Melbourne, ...
.
The Confederados' emphasis on agriculture pushed out both agricultural and non-agricultural practices which were ongoing at the time of their arrival.
[
] The Americans also brought new Christian denominations into Brazil; on 10 September 1871 the first
Brazilian Baptist Church was established in Santa Bárbara.
The first Americans to arrive in the city were Colonel
William Hutchinson Norris, a Civil War veteran and former Senator from the State of
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, and his son, who began to teach courses on cotton cultivation techniques to local farmers. Once they were established, they sent for the rest of their family, as well as other countrymen.
American immigration was crucial to one of the main cultural events of the city: the annual meeting of the Fraternity of American Descendants. Many immigrants who came to Santa Bárbara d'Oeste achieved national prominence, such as
Pérola Byington, a philanthropist and social activist born in the city.
Descendants of the immigrants

The first generation of Confederados remained an insular community, but by the third generation, most of the families had intermarried with native Brazilians or immigrants of other origins. As time went on, these descendants of the Confederados increasingly spoke the
Portuguese language
Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom� ...
and identified themselves as Brazilians.
As the area around Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and Americana turned increasingly to the production of
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
and the society became more mobile, the Confederados tended to migrate to cities. Today, only a few families still live on the original land owned by their ancestors. While the descendants of the original Confederados are scattered throughout Brazil, they maintain the headquarters of their descendant organization in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste.
Today's Confederados maintain affection for the
Confederate flag
The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...
even though they consider themselves completely Brazilian. In Brazil, the Confederate flag does not have the historical association with slavery nor the corresponding stigma that exists in the United States. Many modern Confederados are of
mixed-race
The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more
races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...
and reflect the
varied racial categories that make up
Brazilian society
Brazil had an official resident population of 203 million in 2022, according to IBGE.. Brazil is the seventh most populous country in the world and the second most populous in the Americas and Western Hemisphere.
Brazilians are mainly concentr ...
in their physical appearance. Recently the Brazilian residents of Americana, now of primarily
Italian descent, have removed the Confederate flag from the city's crest citing the fact that Confederados now make up only 10% of the city's population. In 1972, then Governor (and future President)
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
visited the city of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and visited the grave of his wife
Rosalynn's great-uncle, who was one of the original Confederados.
Culture
The center of Confederado culture is the Campo Cemetery, known as the Cemetery of the Americans, in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, where most of the original Confederados from the region are buried. Most of the Confederados were
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, and the only cemetery in town was the
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
cemetery, where it was forbidden to bury non-Catholics. In 1867, with the death of Beatrice Oliver, wife of Colonel Oliver, he buried her (as he later buried his daughters) on a plot of land on his property. He earmarked an acre of his land so that American families could bury their dead. This became the Cemetery of the Americans. Today about 500 people are buried in the cemetery.
The descendants still foster a connection with their history through the ''Fraternity of American Descendants'', an organization dedicated to preserving the unique mixed culture. In April, the organization holds an annual festival, called the ''Festa Confederada'' in order to fund the Campo Cemetery. The festival is based on the culture of the old American south of the antebellum period. During the event there are typical American foods such as chicken fingers, burgers and baked corn; bands play jazz, dixieland, and traditional American folk songs, Confederate flags are everywhere. American folk dances, specifically square dances, are the highlight of the event. Women dress the part, much like the character
Scarlett O'Hara
Katie Scarlett O'Hara is the protagonist of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 in literature, 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind (novel), Gone with the Wind'' and the 1939 Gone with the Wind (film), film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Le ...
in the film ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to:
* Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
* Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel
Gone with the Wind ...
'', and men in Confederate uniforms, boots and hats.
The cemetery has a recreation area where the fraternity holds its quarterly meetings, as well as the ''Festa Confederada''. The festival receives visitors from various parts of Brazil and the world; in 2006 the party attracted 1500 people, and has received such distinguished visitors as Georgia Governor (later US president) Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn, as well as representatives of the US Consulate and press agencies of the United States.
The Confederado community established a
Museum of Immigration in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste preserving the history of Brazilian immigration and its benefits to the nation.
Sports

The main football club of the city is the União Barbarense, founded on 22 November 1914. They currently compete in the A1 series of the Campeonato Paulista. Their home stadium is "Stadium Antonio Lins Ribeiro Guimarães" with a capacity of 14,914.
The Esporte Clube Barbarense has a swimming team which has done well in competitions throughout the State of São Paulo in Brazil. The barbarense swimmer, César Cielo Filho, who started his career in this club, received international recognition when he won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro; he would go on to win the first gold medal by a Brazilian swimmer during the 2008 Summer Olympics. In September 2010 the Esporte Clube Barbarense hosted one of the most important competitions of Brazil's sports calendar: the Jose Finkel Trophy swim. This served as the Brazilian tryouts for the FINA World Swimming Championships of 2010, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
In 2010, the municipal administration of Santa Bárbara d'Oeste began construction of the Polo César Cielo. Following international standards, the first Olympic-size swimming pool in the region will be 50 x 25 meters with a depth of 2.5 meters. R$3.3 million was invested in the project, with funds provided by the Ministry of Sports and city itself. The total area of the water polo facility will be 3.6 million square feet, including bleachers, locker and training rooms.
Media
In telecommunications, the city was served by
Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the
Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).
Religion
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
is present in the city as follows:
Catholic Church
The Catholic church in the municipality is part of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Piracicaba.
Protestant Church
The most diverse evangelical beliefs are present in the city, mainly
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
, including the
Assemblies of God in Brazil (the largest evangelical church in the country),
Christian Congregation in Brazil
The Christian Congregation in Brazil () was founded in Brazil by the Italian-American missionary Luigi Francescon (1866–1964), as part of the larger Christian Congregation (Pentecostal), Christian Congregation movement.
History
Louis Frances ...
,
among others. These denominations are growing more and more throughout Brazil.
Climate
See also
*
List of municipalities in São Paulo
This is a list of the municipalities in the state of São Paulo (SP), located in the Southeast Region of Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countr ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Barbara d'Oeste, Cidade Ridicula
Municipalities in São Paulo (state)
Populated places established in 1818
1818 establishments in South America
Confederate expatriates