Americana, São Paulo

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Coordinates: 22°44′22″S, 47°19′54″W Americana is a city and county (município) located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. In 2000 it had around 203,000 inhabitants.

The Mayor Church of the city in Donwtown

The original settlement evolved around the local railway station, founded in 1875, and the development of a cotton weaving factory in a nearby farm.

After 1866, several Confederate refugees from the American Civil War settled in the region. Among them, there was William H. Norris, a senator from Alabama. Due to Italian immigration near the end of the 19th century, only some 10 percent of the current population are of Confederado descent and about a dozen English-speaking families remain in the area.

About 300 of the Confederados are members of the Fraternidade Descendencia Americana (Fraternity of American Descendants). They meet quarterly at the Campo Cemetery.

The city was known as Vila dos Americanos (Americans' Village) until 1904. It became a district in 1924 and a municipality in 1953.

Americana has several museums and tourist attractions, including the Pedagogic Historical Museum (with exhibits on slavery and cotton weaving), and the Contemporary Art Museum.

Rio Branco Esporte Clube, founded in 1913, is the football (soccer) club of the city. The team plays their home matches at Estádio Décio Vitta, which has a maximum capacity of 15,000 people.