Paranapiacaba is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and a district

District

Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...

 of the municipality of Santo André in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 (State of São Paulo

São Paulo (state)

São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

). It was established as a company town

Company town

A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...

 for the employees of São Paulo Railway

São Paulo Railway

São Paulo Railway was a privately owned British railway company in Brazil, which operated the gauge railway from the seaport at Santos via São Paulo to Jundiaí...

, a privately owned British railway company

Railway company

A railway company or railroad company is an entity that operates a railroad track and/or trains. Such a company can either be private or public...

. This railway allowed the transport of cargo and people from inside Paulista to the port of Santos. The word paranapiacaba means "where you will find the sea" in Tupi.

In the 1980s there was a working steam engine from the turn of the 20th Century, which they ran several times a day. It was originally used to pull inclined trains from the coast. You can get very close to the working parts and watch them while the engine is running.

The site was included in the 2000 and 2002 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund

World Monuments Fund

World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....

, calling for investment to revitalize the village. With funding from American Express

American Express

American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...

the Fund helped local stakeholders implement this effort. By 2008 the conservation team had restored Casa Fox (the Archive), the Castelinho (now a museum), the Lyra Serrano Club, and the Old Marquet.