OFFICIAL TOURISM WEBSITE
LENÇÓIS PAULISIA
The Book City
150,000
Books
71,065
People
2
Books for person
Lençós Paulista was found in April 28th, 1858. Lençóis Paulista has more than 71 thousand people and it is bathed by a river named Lençóis, which is the most importante for the population supply and also gave rise to the name of the city, because of the waves that form at the mouth of the river which looked like a sheet of water when reflected in the sun.
Because of its rich literary historical content and its collection being bigger than the number of people in the city, Lençóis Paulista is known as “The Book City”.
The city has a large number of historical cultural and rural attractives besides national agricultural events. It also stands out for the production of sugar and alcohol, cellulose, used oil re-refining, food, spirit, wine and beer.
In Lençóis Paulista, the culture, the traditions, the Faith, the entrepreneurship, the environment preservation and the spirit of solidarity walk together, besides the traditional hospitality of the city.
Lençóis Paulista is in the Midwest region of the state of São Paulo, nearly 300 kilometers from its capital. The access is done by the roads SP-300 (Rodovia Marechal Rondon) and SP-261 (Rodovia Osni Mateus).
How to get there?
Lençóis Paulista is in the Midwest region of the state of São Paulo, nearly 300 kilometers from its capital. The access is done by the roads SP-300 (Rodovia Marechal Rondon) and SP-261 (Rodovia Osni Mateus).
Our story
It is very likely that the first settlers of Lençóis came in the first decades of the 19th century, between 1800 and 1830. As the land registry only became better controlled after 1850, it is difficult to precisely determine the beginning of the settlement.
It is known that, in 1834, Pedro Nardes Ribeiro took possession of the land on the banks of the municipality of Ribeirão Grande, near Aimorés (current district of Bauru) and Guaianás (current district of Pederneiras). At the same time, Pedro Francisco Pinto crossed the Serra dos Agudos mountain range and tried to settle himself at Batalha River basin, where he was killed by the Indians. Sebastião Pereira started farming near Ribeirão da Água Parada, near Bauru.
In November 1863, Francisco Rodrigues de Campos registered in Lençóis the sale of several plots of land close to the Batalha River, which he would have taken possession of between 1830 and 1835. As these places are beyond Lençóis, it was concluded that the village had already existed for some time before.
When the number of people grew in the region, during the first half of the 19th century, numerous rural groups emerged, all included in the general designation of Bairro dos Lençóes neighborhood. It was elevated to a parish on April 28, 1858, by the Law n7 36 of the Province of São Paulo, being subordinated to a village named Vila de Botucatu. Seven years later, on April 25, 1865, by Law n7 90, the parish was elevated to a village named Vila de Lençóes. The district was created on May 7, 1877 and installed on October 20 of the same year.
Shortly after being elevated to a village, Lençóis was dismembered from Botucatu.
Origin of the name
Because of the cartographic charts that mapped the tributaries of the Tietê River, it is known that, at least, since 1770, the Lençóis River region has been known by that same name. Later, the same that happened with so many other cities, the village of ‘Ribeirão dos Lençóis’ adopted the name of the river to which it was neighboring. However, the reason why the first pioneers referred to the river by the name of Lençóis is still unknown.
According to Alexandre Chitto, in his book “Lençóis Paulista Boca do Sertão”, there is no consensus on the origin of the name. The historian presents three possible versions, in which the reference is literal. The first version would be that of a species of flowering grass that took up large tracts of land on the banks of the river, giving it the appearance of an immense colored sheet. Another version would have the same meaning as the flowered sheet, but it would be the result of gabiroba flowers (a species of fruiting shrub) lying on the ground.
The most consistent version, however, is the one that suggests that the name would be given due to the river itself, which, at some point, formed waves that, reflected by the sun, looked like sheets of water at its mouth.
In addition to changing the borders of the municipalities, Vargas’ government also changed their names. One of the new rules was that two or more cities could not have the same name across the country.
The decision to change came in December 1943. Before that, in 1941, due to a spelling reform in the Portuguese language, the spelling of the name had already changed from “Lençóes” to “Lençóis”. There was already an older city called Lençóis, in Bahia, so this one got the right to the name.
Within the Municipal Directory of Geography, a commission was formed to deal with the matter. The commission asked state officials to keep the name, arguing that it was what the peoploe wanted. The commission considered the local public opinion that the name was based on a popular tradition and the place had been called like that that since the beginning of its settlement. If it was not possible to keep the original name, the commission suggested two other names: Rio Lençóis or Lençóis Paulista.
The city was unsuccessful in the arguments and on January 17, 1945, another name was suggested: Ubirama, which in the Tupi language meant pleasant region.
In that same year, 1945, Getúlio Vargas was deposed, but the municipality carried the name Ubirama for another four years. With the end of Vargas' Estado Novo, the municipalities regained autonomy to elect their mayors and councilors, which happened in 1947. On January 17, 1948, the new City Council of Ubirama was reinstalled. One of his first solutions was to review its name, which on January 17, 1949, returned to Lençóis, with the addition of the “Paulista” on it.
Symbols
The Flag, its colors and justifications:
The yellow and green fields represent the riches of Lençóis Paulista, due to its farming, its industry and its commerce;
The blue strip represents the sky and Lençóis River, a true mirror reflecting the image of the sky of the city;
The white strips that flank the blue one carry with them the lyrical theme of the poetry sung in the city's coat of arms. “The white foam of Lençóis River”;
With white letters, over the blue strip, it has written “PRO DEO, PRO PATRIA”, placed to remember the city’s coat of arms and, above all, Lençóis Paulista’s ideal resounds in all fields where its flag is expended.
About the coat of arms:
The Coat of Arms is an artistic confection of the shield of our city, which represents the History of its foundation, according to our heraldry the laws.
The design is by Laudelino de Lima Rolim.
Municipal Law No. 189 of January 20, 1955 is the instrument that establishes this symbol in the municipality.
The Official Anthem of the Municipality
Lyrics and music by Poério Zillo
Congratulations Lençóis Paulista!
By your faith and tradition,
For your honorable and strong people,
Conscious and Christian.
From your struggles in the past
To the achievements of the present,
you made yourself beloved
Of your competent children.
Land of entry of brave pioneers,
Of ancient people in their constant struggles,
Of a strong people from across the sea who later arrived,
That here won and united.
Your industries, your crops,
Your great cane fields,
They are achievements, they are riches
That they will never die.
Your culture, your sports,
And social duty, too,
They are virtues that proclaim
Justice, love and kindness.
Lençóis Paulista, formerly "Boca do Sertão",
That today is a milestone for the nation's progress,
Which stands out for its manly race,
That honors São Paulo and Brazil!