It was thus named in honor of Colonel Cornélio Procópio de Araújo Carvalho, a prominent figure in the Empire during the late 19th century.

In financial difficulties, he sold his lands in Paraná to the allotment company formed by Colonel Francisco Moreira da Costa and Antônio de Paiva.

In the interval between the sale of the land by Junqueira and ownership by the company Paiva & Moreira, some streets began to be occupied without obeying any planning, that is, some rustic buildings were erected, fleeing the previously established urban pattern.

The construction of this railroad began in 1923, and in 1924 the name was changed to Companhia Ferroviária São Paulo-Paraná, when on June 12, the first stretch between Ourinhos and Leoflora was inaugurated.

For the construction of the railroad, there was a need for authorization or concession from the Federal Government, a factor that was not a problem, since it was influenced by São Paulo and Minas Gerais, within what was conventionally called "coffee with milk policy".

The solution for the construction would come through the sale of railroad shares to English businessmen, attracted by the fertility and availability of land in northern Paraná.

It is said that he was a major shareholder in the company Paraná Plantation The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cornélio Procópio.