[2] Before that, Barra do Calado and Santo Antônio de Piracicaba were on the route of troopers who traveled the region transporting cargo and goods,[1] and the population was of no more than a few hundred residents.
The beginning of operations was much celebrated by the district, as it favored the entry and exit of cargo and goods, previously transported by animals or canoes via the Piracicaba River.
[7] Around the terminal, the first houses were raised in the region where the central neighborhood was built, which became the headquarters of the Melo Viana district in 1933, due to the long distance that the clerk José Zacarias da Silva Roque had to travel on foot between the notary's office and the station.
[8] At that time, the flow of cargo was restricted to the arrival of small packages and food, but with the establishment of the Companhia Siderúrgica Belgo-Mineira in the locality, the terminal became a hub of machinery unloading and wood loading as well as coal destined for the plants in João Monlevade.
[3] Thus, the timber sector came to represent the main economic source in the district throughout the 1930s, but domestic commercial activity also benefited, attracting consumers from neighboring towns through the four daily train stops.
The development of the central region of the city was driven by the installation of the industrial complexes of Acesita (now Aperam South America), in the neighboring municipality Timóteo; and Usiminas, in Ipatinga.
[7] With the creation of the first urban bus lines, the presence of the station and the surrounding businesses turned Pedro Nolasco Street into the main stop in the Center of Fabriciano.
[13][14] The peak of its operation occurred in the 1960s, as it was located in the middle of one of the busiest commercial centers in the region and served to support the flow of timber production, in addition to passenger transportation.
[13] On this occasion, the station became home to the First Residence of the Permanent Way ("rimeira Residência da Via Permanentt,") the unit responsible for managing the stretch of railroad between Naque and Itabira.
[16] In the early 1970s, the then Companhia Vale do Rio Doce announced changes in the railroad's route, diverting it from highly populated areas, such as the Center of Fabriciano.
[3] With the deactivation of the railway terminal, the municipal government began the project of building a square in the area, named Praça Mário Carvalho after a Vale worker.
The work was commissioned by José Anastácio Franco, based on an image by the photographer Argemiro Ribeiro, and later donated to the city and declared a municipal cultural heritage on April 28, 1999.