Settlers and Their Farms

Abstract

By far the most numerous settlements in Toledo are individual isolated pioneer farms. The Maripá Land Company (MLC) chose settlers primarily from Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul who were second, third, and fourth generation descendants of Germans and Italians. The choice was a paramount element in this pioneer colonization. Smaller groups of Japanese and Polish descendants have also settled in Toledo. Just beyond the MLC boundary and in the surrounding municĭpios there are Luso-Brazilians who contrast greatly with MLC colonists. The differences and the influences of the various groups of settlers are also reflected in the settlement types. To illustrate this point several farm settlements are described, compared, and contrasted in the following pages.