Situated in the north of the Cabo municipality, on the left bank of the Gurjaú River, it was founded in 1895 by Colonel Octaviano de Souza.
It was previously a plantation with the same name, built by Pedro Lopes de Vera before the Dutch invasion.
In 1918, Colonel Augusto Octaviano de Souza and his wife, Clementina Octaviano de Souza, sold the factory to José Lúcia Ferreira and Luiz Ferreira Gomes da Silva Filho.
In October 1919, the factory was sold once again to João Lopes de Siqueira Santos, Hermano Brandão de Siqueira Santos and Colonel Antônio Pedro Soares Brandão, who created a society called Firma Social de Santos Siqueira Etc. Cia (Santos Siqueira Etc. Social Firm, Ltd).
In 1923, Colonel Antônio Pedro resigned from the society and, in 1924, Hermano Brandão died, resulting in João Lopes da Siqueira Santos being the sole partner.
In 1929 it had the capacity to process 400 tonnes of sugarcane in 22 hours, had six kilometres of railway, six locomotives and 130 wagons. During the milling period there were 400 workers at the factory.
The exploration of the land was done in partnership, and the transportation of the sugarcane and firewood was by its own railway. The sugar production was transported to Recife by waterways.
It had a large workers’ village and a school with an annual attendance of 30 students.
With the death of the owner, João Lopes de Siqueira Santos, in 1934, the factory was left to his widow, Benvinda Arruda Siqueira Santos and later descendants.
In 1945 it became a public company. In 1957, the shareholders offered their shares to João Lopes de Siqueira Santos Filho, who bought them and then became the sole owner together with his wife, Marina Loyo Meira Lins de Siqueira Santos. In 1994, with the factory in great condition, the ownership was passed on to Clóvis Paiva, its current owner.
Recife, 7 August 2003.
(Updated on 9 September 2009).
Translated by Peter Leamy, January 2012.
sources consulted
ANDRADE, Manuel Correia de. História das usinas de açúcar de Pernambuco. Recife: FJN. Ed. Massangana, 1989. 114 p. (República, v.1)
GONÇALVES & SILVA, O assucar e o algodão em Pernambuco. Recife: [s.n.], 1929. 90 p.
MOURA, Severino. Senhores de engenho e usineiros, a nobreza de Pernambuco. Recife: Fiam, CEHM, Sindaçúcar, 1998. 320 p. (Tempo municipal, 17).
how to quote this text
Source: GASPAR, Lúcia. Bom Jesus (Good Jesus) Sugarcane Factory. Pesquisa Escolar Online, Joaquim Nabuco Foudation, Recife. Available at: <https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/en/>. Accessed: day month year. Exemple: 6 Aug. 2009