The region where the city is located was in the past a mandatory way for travellers who wanted to go through land from São Paulo or Minas Gerais to the northern Mato Grosso. During the early 1900s the railway was completed connecting Campo Grande to Corumbá, in the northwest region of the state, and to Bauru, São Paulo. Also in the beginning of the 20th century, Campo Grande became the Western Brazilian Army Headquarters, making it an important military center.