Founded: October 30, 1741
Originally called Santa Barbara de Tolong, this town lies on the northern part of the Agno Valley almost exactly at the center of Pangasinan. Turning west from Urdaneta City going towards Dagupan City, one passes through the national highway flanked by centuries-old mango trees that silently announces one has reached Santa Barbara. Founded on October 30, 1741, Santa Barba
ra is the 15th town to be established since the arrival of the Dominican missionaries in Pangasinan in September 1587. To commemorate the significance of its foundation, the local government declared October 30 as “Agew na Santa Barbara” on October 30, 2009 during the town’s 268th founding anniversary. A silent witness to the rich history of Santa Barbara is the church. Three times razed by fire, first in 1762 during the Palaris uprising, second in 1822 and third in 1872, the church including the parish convent had been rebuilt from 1877 to 1886 by Fr. Casimiro Lafuente, a priest, historian and a builder who also designed and constructed the town plaza and the racetract beside it. Today, major renovations and reconstructions were made not only to beautify the structure but more so to preserve its antiquity. It is noteworthy that the first group of Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines was assigned in this parish. The missionaries were canonically installed as priests of Santa Barbara by Bishop Mariano Madriaga upon their arrival on June 9, 1947. At once, they erected the first altar in Asia of their founder St. Anthony Mary Claret, the patron of cancer patients, on the right side of the church. Some cancer patients used to have pilgrimage here in Santa Barbara to ask his intercession for their recovery. The parish was under the patronage of St. Barbara until the Papal visit of Pope Paul VI to the Philippines in 1972 when it was accorded with the title Parish of the Holy Family due to the legendary biography of St. Thus, came the famous greeting in this town: Masagradon familia ed sicayo! Envisioned to be the agribusiness center of the north, Santa Barbara is also known for its red bricks, bamboo and rattan furniture, sweet mangoes, handicrafts and various agricultural products. Aside from these, Santa Barbara is noted for its newly constructed and/or renovated infrastructures like roads, bridges, irrigations, dikes, and classrooms and offices in every school from the town proper down to the far-flung villages. Another sight to behold in Santa Barbara is the Gawad Kalinga (GK) site in Barangay Leet, called GK – Larioville. This is a model community used as a holistic approach to end poverty through dignity restoration, values formation and resource-sharing. But more than its products and structures, Santa Barbara is known to be a land of great leaders. During the Revolutionary-Republican period, one man who stood up and led the forces that won over the Spanish army in the “Battle of Dagupan” which ended the Spanish reign in Pangasinan was Don Daniel Maramba. Born and raised in Santa Barbara, Don Daniel also fought the US Army but took his oath of allegiance to the United States after learning about the capture of his superior, General Emilio Aguinaldo in Isabela. Also known as the “Grand Old Man of Pangasinan” because of his enormous contribution to the progress and development of the province during his term as governor, Don Daniel donated most of his properties to the government including that of the Provincial Nursery where the 190M Rice Processing Facility donated by the Korean government is under construction. Also, in this area stands the first of its kind in the province which is the Community Police Action Center (COMPAC), a community police assistance and emergency response center which is open 24 hours. Other great leaders from Santa Barbara who became national figures were: Don Juan Manuel, former Minister of Education and Culture; Don Cipriano B. Primicias, Jr., former Governor and Deputy Minister of Local Government and Community Development; Don Mauro Calaguio, Sr., former Deputy Commissioner of Bureau of Internal Revenue; and Hon Reynaldo V. Velasco, former Deputy Director General of PNP, now incumbent mayor of Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara has gone far since its first inhabitants settled near the Tolong River several centuries ago. But, despite the progress and development that is taking place, the townspeople remain to be the kind of people their ancestors had been – family-oriented, peace-loving and hardworking. No wonder, every Santa Barbaran is proud to be a Santa Barbaran. On March 7, 1898, Daniel Maramba (from Sta. Barbara) led the liberation of the town of Santa Barbara from the Spanish forces. Also on March 7, 1898, the rebels under the command of Vicente Del Prado (from San Jacinto) and Juan Quezada (from Dagupan) attacked convents in a number of towns in Zambales province, located west of Lingayen, which now constitute the western parts of Pangasinan. Attacked and brought under Filipino control were Alaminos, Agno, Anda, Alos, Bani, Balincaguin, Bolinao, Dasol, Egui and Potot. Then the revolt spread to Labrador, Sual, Salasa and many other towns in the west. All three heroes of the “Battle of Dagupan” eventually became governors of the Pangasinan. Daniel Maramba even became a Senator in 1941-1945. Del Prado was later elected representative of Pangasinan to the Malolos Congress with Quesada succeeding him as governor of Pangasinan. Juan Quesada’s family owns Vicar Hotel which is located in A.B. Fernandez Ave., Dagupan City. Vicar Hotel today no longer functions as a hotel. With it’s sturdy foundation and architectural design, it is now home to Mercury Drug in the 1st floor and offices and clinics in the 2nd floor. It was once known as the “Manila Hotel” of the North. This page is dedicated to propagate the ideals of Daniel Bautista Maramba (1870-1941), a Revolutionist, Nationalist, Statesman and pride of Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan, Philippines.
