The river became part of farming life
A cultivated riverbank tells history too.
Includes an activity to try →Explore: One river, four stories →Read here and view sources
The 1758 account describes the river of Santa Senhorinha flowing all year, but with little water in summer. It describes cultivated banks, fruit trees and wild trees, linking water with irrigation and rural work.
Vila de Lobos and Cainhos had olive-oil mills; grain mills are mentioned in Vila de Lobos and Sestelo. The same description follows several river uses: growing crops, grinding grain and processing olives. It does not confirm which facilities survive or operate today.
Unlike the rushing currents described at São Nicolau, the abbot characterises this river as calm and flowing from west to east. He begins its course at Aboim and lists Várzea Cova, Passos and São Clemente before Santa Senhorinha. This is the geography reported in the document, not a current delineation of the watercourse.
Residents’ use of water for the fields is described as unrestricted. The account was signed on 23 May 1758. That detail matters: the reference to little water in summer describes a pattern known to the author, not an observation made during that year’s summer.
Source and context
Municipality — Memória de Santa Senhorinha, 23/05/1758; transcript of José Viriato Chapel (2003)
Accessed: . Editorial summary; the date of consultation is not the date of the facts.