Cedros (Santa Cruz das Flores)

Cedros
Civil parish (Freguesia)
Alagoa Bay and islets seen from the air (the village over the cliff at the center is Cedros; to the far right is Ponta Ruiva)
Official name: Freguesia dos Cedros
Name origin: Portuguese for cedars
Country	Portugal
Autonomous Region	Azores
Island	Flores
Municipality	Santa Cruz das Flores
Localities	Alagoa, Cedros, Ponta Ruiva
Center	Cedros
- elevation	299 m (981 ft)
- coordinates	39°28′50″N 31°9′12″W / 39.48056°N 31.15333°W / 39.48056; -31.15333Coordinates: 39°28′50″N 31°9′12″W / 39.48056°N 31.15333°W / 39.48056; -31.15333
Highest point	Ladeira Entre Ribeiras
- elevation	725 m (2,379 ft)
- coordinates	39°28′34″N 31°12′16″W / 39.47611°N 31.20444°W / 39.47611; -31.20444
Lowest point	Sea level
- location	Atlantic Ocean
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Area	10.30 km2 (4 sq mi)
- urban	.0073 km2 (0 sq mi)
Population	128 (2011)
Density	12/km2 (31/sq mi)
LAU	Junta Freguesia
- location	Rua Padre Jose M. Alvares
- coordinates	39°28′48″N 31°9′8″W / 39.48000°N 31.15222°W / 39.48000; -31.15222
President Junta	Maria João Mendonça Fortuna de Brum
President Assembleia	Oscar Manuel Rocha
Timezone	Azores (UTC-1)
- summer (DST)	Azores (UTC0)
Postal zone	9970-031
Area code & prefix	(+351) 292 XXX-XXXX
Demonym	Cedrense
Patron saint	Nossa Senhora do Pilar
Location of the civil parish seat of Cedro in the municipality of Santa Cruz das Flores
Website: cm-santacruzdasflores.azoresdigital.pt

Cedros is a Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of Santa Cruz das Flores, on the island of Flores in the Azores. The population in 2011 was 128, in an area of approximately 10.30 square kilometres (3.98 sq mi).

Due to the difficulties associated with the region, its cliffs and climate in particular, settlement of this area developed during the late 15th century. From a small circle of three to four families, Cedros grew to about thirty neighbors by about 1715, so said Father António Cordeiro. The same author, referred to the existence of the hamlet of Ponta Ruiva with a few residents and a small port, which were integrated into the parish of São Pedro (in Ponta Delgada, Santa Cruz das Flores) at the time.

Although Cedros was considered a "breadbasket" of the region, it had an important place in the economy of the island for the abundance of the Azorean cedar (cedros-do-mato) because its lumber was used in the construction of ships for fishing, for the early homes and the implements used in agriculture. The fibers of the cedars were usually dried in the sun, and used to produce twine or ropes.

But, Ilhéu Furado and the anchorage of Alagoa was, during many decades, the natural access to the island of Flores when winds from the southeast were strong. Alagoa was the heart of Cedros, due to its access to the sea, and connection to the interior pasturelands and orchards.

The distance between Cedros and Ponta Ruivo from their respective parishes, at the time, the mountainous cliffs and valleys and climate, made the residents petition the Bishop of Angra, at the time Friar Clement Vieira, to de-annex their localities from their respective parishes. By doing so, the residents would constitute their own parish and construct a church, to the invocation of Nossa Senhora do Pilar, at their own cost. The Captain-major at the time, D. Martinho de Mascarenhas (sixth Count of Santa Cruz) also supported the claims of the citizens, and offered to build a chapel and to donate a statue of Senhora do Pilar. After bishop António Álvares Pereira de Sousa visited the community in 1690, and after having agreed to elevate the community to parish he died, and the decision was delayed. Finally, Cedros, Ponta Ruiva and possibly Alagoa, were elevated to parish on July 9, 1693, a community of 176 inhabitants in 50 homes. Father Domingos Furtado de Mendonça was its first parish priest, he had an annual pay of about 24$000 réis, two parts in wheat and one in cash, of which he paid a portion to the Count of Sant Cruz. Faithful to their promise the residents constructed a new church, that was completed in 1693, and which the Count complied in donating the new chapel, whose addition was completed in 1719. Inscriptions on two rocks found during demolition on the church in September 1945 confirm these facts, as well as a shield of D. Martinho de Mascarenhas and cross etched with 1693 and 1719, respectively. The church was reconstructed in 1822, but by 1868 a report by the Civil Governor of the District of Horta, at that time António José Vieira Santa Rita, considered the building to be in a bad state of conservation.