San Quintin Pangasinan

The history of San Quintin would be devoid of one of its most brilliant chapters without a recount of the vents that transpired from the pre-settlement period when no Chiristian Filipinos were yet to known to inhabit the town up to the time it got its name. At the close of the 17th century, San Quintin was a wilderness inhabited by fierce man-eating tribes called "UBILAOS". These tribes, according to old folks, were greatly responsible in forcing the Spanish soldiers and missionaries to build fortresses at the western side of the town (site of the old cemetery), with the main purpose to pacify and to convert the natives into the Christian Faith. The Spaniards, however, did not stay long in town due to lack of food supplies. Eventually, they abandoned the town temprarily, and once more made it uninhabitable and strategically useless.

As early as the beginning of the 18th century, the town that the 17th century failed to establish and let flourish welcomed its first Christian settlers composed of five families of what originally was twelve, from the coastal town of Ilocos Sur and La Union. These five families were able to reach this settlement after days of winding, criss-crossing and gorging unchartered rivers and thickly vegetaged brooks; crossing snake infested forest and mountains; and intelligently evading the bloody tragic paths of the uncompromising and overly antagonistic headhunter mountaineers. In no time theses settlers had diligently cleared away the thick cogon and wild underbrush on the land they literally occupied (the present site of poblacion) they began to plant root crops such as camote, gabi, peanut, etc., other vital necessities like tobacco, and the initial staple food corn for their daily subsistence and nourishment. Following their first bountiful these settlers started patiently to clear adjacent forestlands. Barely a year later, an exodus of immigrants from Ilocos coastal towns found its way to this fast growing and developing village.

As a result of the great exodus, the "Ubilaos" and other smaller minority tribes, believing that they were being numerically outnumbered and outmaneuvered, if not most of our-witted dismayingly by the new settlers, hurriedly deserted their dwelling places and took deeper into the safety and virgin mountain vastness. Left behind were several of their settlements scattered in many section of the town. These are the present sites of barangays Casantamaria-an, Cabangaran, Gonzalo, San Pedro and Lagasit. These first permanent settlements were subsequently occupied by the immigrant-settlers who came from Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur and Bangar, La Union. These were without names then although at that time, there was already formed the original settlement around the Lango-lango creek, and so was named "Lango-lango" in honor of a man leader with the same name. Based on what our old folks as followed and preserved by tittle-tattle from generation to generation. The said man named Lango-lango had "anting-anting" or "talisman" that enabled him to ride his horse on tree-tops, in the air, or atop of houses. The strength and courage of this man have greatly admired in awe by the settlers so much so that they considered and openly accepted him as their leader, idol and defender. Most of the houses of the settlers were aligned along the banks of the creek because of the creek's bountiful livelihood resources as to big eels, lobsters, crabs, mudfish, shells and the like.

CREATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY

With Lango-lango as the strategic center, the different settlements were eventually organized into one entity and duly named Lango-lango. The union made in order to promote closer understanding and more amiable relationships among the people, especially so because trade which was carried on the barter system was flourishing altogether with industries in agriculture, weaving, grazing, and pottery. Due to the rapid growth in population, Lango-lango was created into a barrio under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Umingan, then a town of the province of Nueva Ecija.

In 1861, the Great Conference, aimed to press the Spanish government to fully recognize the barrio as a town, was summoned by Don Quintin Lictawa and attended by all the leaders of the different settlements. By the Spanish decree of 1863, the transformation was put into effect, as well naming it San Quintin in honor of its great leader.