Jucuruçu

History

The settlement that became Jucuruçu originated with the arrival of the Rocha and Rodrigues families, who fled severe drought in the semi-arid interior of Bahia in the early twentieth century. Around 1912, the families established themselves along the banks of the Jucuruçu River, attracted by fertile land, abundant water, and conditions suitable for farming and raising livestock. The river valley had long served as an indigenous trail connecting tribes in northern Minas Gerais to those in the far south of Bahia. To unite the two families, intermarriages took place between the Rodrigues men and the Rocha women. On 10 May 1961, the district was detached from Prado and transferred to the newly created municipality of Itamaraju. In December 1968, the Jucuruçu River experienced its first major flood. During the following decades, the community grew and local representatives advocated for autonomy. On 8 August 1988, a plebiscite was held in which residents voted in favour of emancipation. On 24 February 1989, more than seventy years after the first families arrived, the district was elevated to the status of a municipality with the corrected spelling Jucuruçu. Its territory encompassed the districts of Coqueiro, Monte Azul, Água Limpa, São João da Boa Nova, Manoel Rodrigues, and Itamaraty, as well as approximately thirty rural communities. The first municipal elections were held in 1989, with Porfírio Antônio Rodrigues elected as the inaugural mayor.

Most-observed species

• Acrocomia intumescens Drude

  Acrocomia intumescens Drude · Liliopsida
  1
• Tropical milkweed, Bloodflower, Scarlet milkweed

  Asclepias curassavica L. · Magnoliopsida
  1