In 1915 Major Cândido Rondon of the Corps of Military Engineers, who was directing the construction of a telegraph line from Cuiabá in neighbouring Mato Grosso state to Santo Antonio do Madeira near Porto Velho, reported that the region was inhabited by rubber tappers and plantation workers in São Pedro do Muqui. The region remained virtually unchanged for about 50 years, until highway construction eventually made the state of Rondônia accessible for colonization. The first settlers arrived in the 1960s, settling in four tents along the muddy right-of-way. The town became known as "Vila Trinta e Três", referring to its location 33 km from Vila de Rondônia, now the town of Ji-Paraná.