Vila Pery was raised to the status of city by the Governor-General of Portugal's Overseas Province of Mozambique, Baltazar Rebelo de Sousa, on 17 July 1969, in recognition of the success of its economic and social activities. Vila Pery's football team won its first Mozambican Football Championship title in 1969. The sports club, founded in 1928, contributed to the development of sport and cultural activities. Most of the buildings in the city of Chimoio are milestones of the dynamism in the city's life under Portuguese rule. The Vila Pery Hotel (now the Police social centre), built in 1920, was the first hotel in Vila Pery. The Caldas Xavier Primary School, built in 1948, was the first school in Vila Pery. Nowadays, it houses the Chimoio Municipal Council.