The colony was led by an ex-US Senator from Alabama in 1865. While a few families returned to the USA (having had their fill of tortuous Portuguese, among other difficulties), the vast majority stayed and their descendants are still in the area. Many of them still speak southern English I am told. Check out the photographs below of the area and signs of Southern heritage, interspersed with commentary. Let’s start with a view coming into Americana from the south.

On the road to the Confederate memorial, which contains the original baptist church they founded in 1871, and the Confederate cemetery with tombstones written in English.

What a surprise to see the flag of dixie in the Brazilian countryside! The small museum on site shows the heritage and persuasion of the people who came to Brazil.

Outside is found a monument to the 91 confederado baptist families which came to Santa Barbara D’Oeste. The names are written all the way around the obelisk. Evidently, these families represented the Baptist contingency of the Southerners who came to this part of Brazil.









The rear of the area is the original baptist church, much as it looked like in the late 1800s, remodeled in the 1920s.









The church’s cemetery has family graves from many of the immigrants, with tombstones in English, and obvious confederate ties, many attesting to people with sincere Christian testimonies. Strong freemasonry is also noticeable, brought early by Mr. Norris. Enlarge each gravestone to see the names and often the birthplaces: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and several from South Carolina. Can you identify any of your ancestors?









Here are a couple of shots of the current Baptist church found in the center of Santa Barbara D’Oeste, which is apparently a granddaughter church of the Baptist work pioneered by the confederados: Here are a couple of shots of the current Baptist church found in the center of Santa Barbara D’Oeste, which is apparently a granddaughter church of the Baptist work pioneered by the

Leah McKnight and her son Gabriel happened to be at the monument while I was there. She is a direct descendant of the McKnight and Jones families which immigrated to the region. Can you see the Southern Belle in her fair skin, green eyes and light hair? She (who did not speak English) and other descendants maintain the memorial with their own funds. They are fully incorporated into Brazilian culture but also maintain their southern heritage with annual meetings in April of for families of confederate immigrants. (If she spoke slowly and clearly in Portuguese and I spoke likewise in Spanish we could understand each other fairly well.)







In central Santa Barbara D’Oeste (about 8 miles from the cemetery and Confederate monument) is found the Immigration Museum which has many photographs and artifacts of the confederados and other groups. I was not able to use a flash so the photographs are not very good.









In central Santa Barbara D’Oeste (about 8 miles from the cemetery and Confederate monument) is found the Immigration Museum which has many photographs and artifacts of theand other groups. I was not able to use a flash so the photographs are not very good.

Several miles away, outside of the city of Americana (where a gas station attendant wore a cap with a Confederate battle flag on it but where almost no one I spoke to knew much about their Confederate heritage) is found the Herman Mueller house, a German immigrant to Americana. There was also a significant Italian immigration after the Confederates (“Confederados“) came.

Finally, a few shots from nearby areas: City of Campinas, between Sao Paulo and Americana.