The city was founded June 19, 1856, by farmers coming from the southeast of
São Paulo State in search of good climate and soil for coffee growing. The city
was laid by a stream called Black Creek, and was named after it (
Ribeirão Preto means black creek in
Portuguese, sometimes the city name is translated as "Black Stream",
which is also the name of a hotel in the city). Eventually the farmers’ choice
revealed itself as very adequate and the fertile soil of the Ribeirão Preto
region allowed the highest crop productivity in Brazil.
