San Gabriel, La Union

San Gabriel is politically subdivided into 15 barangays. [2]

San Gabriel was formerly known as sitio “Baka-Burnotan”, derived from “binnornutan” (English: "tug-of-war"). The sitio was the meeting place of both Christians and pagan Kankanaey settlers from nearby sitios to graze their cattle while playing the game. The name was later shortened to "burnotan". The wide plain and fertile soil attracted Christian and pagan settlers, who later intermarried which led to the increase in population.[6]

On April 19, 1897, a Roman Catholic priest Father Redondo established a church in the area and introduced the patron saint to be Saint Gabriel, from which the town was later named.[6]

In 1906, San Gabriel was made into a township under the sub-province of Amburayan in Mountain Province, with the first Presidente being Don Pablo Waggay. The township was converted into a municipal district of Amburayan in 1920, and into a municipality in 1922, following the settlement of a boundary dispute between La Union and Mountain Province. In 1947, San Gabriel was converted into a regular municipality by virtue of Executive Order No. 72 issued by President Manuel Roxas through the sponsorship of former House Speaker Pro-Tempore Francisco Ortega.[6]

In the 2015 census, the population of San Gabriel, La Union, was 18,172 people,[3] with a density of 140 inhabitants per square kilometre or 360 inhabitants per square mile.

San Gabriel is an agricultural town. In its early days, the people of San Gabriel were engaged mainly in highland farming as their means of livelihood. They produced rice, corn, sweet potatoes and other root crops. As years passed, crop production decreased due to massive soil erosion in the uplands. Nevertheless, the inhabitants decided to improve their farming techniques and started making terraces. The perseverance of the people in constructing rice terraces and irrigation system along the hills and mountains of San Gabriel caused agricultural productivity to rebound.

Bananas and tiger grass ("Thysanolaena maxina") are also abundant in San Gabriel, which harvests materials for soft broom production on a weekly basis.

• Gumayenggeng Falls at Barangay Lipay
• Katebbegan Fall at Barangay Lipay Proper
• Bakes Falls and Lon-oy Spring at Barangay Lon-oy
• Lineng Pool at Poblacion
• Tinnag-Americano Falls at Barangay Polipol
• Tangadan Falls located at Barangay Amontoc[10]

• 
  Municipal hall
• 
  Police station
• 
  Town center
• 
  Saint Gabriel the Archangel Church
• 
  Rural landscape

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Gabriel, La Union.

• San Gabriel Profile at PhilAtlas.com
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information
• Local Governance Performance Management System