among these large farms were, the fazenda pau grande (big stick plantation) and the fazenda de nossa senhora da piedade de vera cruz (our lady of mercy of the true cross plantation) - many of the original plantations evolved into coffee plantations starting in the eighteenth century and on up through the nineteenth, along with coffee, cattle, poultry and wheat, which were also part of the growing agricultural economy of this period.

soon after the turn of the twentieth century, the fertile soil attracted immigrants of all nationalities who came in search of work and new lives - immigrants from italy, germany, portugal, japan, and the middle east multiplied the commercial establishments in town.