History of Magalang
Magalang was mentioned as visita of the nearby town of Arayat on December 29, 1598. On April 30, 1605, it was separated by the Augustinians from Arayat and attained township status due to the bajo de la campana system. Augustinians appointed Fr. Gonzalo de Salazar, OSA as the first pastor.
Magalang was initially called Magalo, derived from the Kapampangan word “Galo”, which means wavy and moving, describing the dangerous flow of the Parua River.
The town proper was located in Macapsa, but due to the natural calamities and revolts led by Andres Malong and his subordinate Melchor de Vera against the Spanish in 1660, it was nearly abandoned. It was moved to San Bartolome in 1734 until it was swept by the flood due to the overflow of the Parua River in 1863. It was transferred to the present site in barrio San Pedro Talimunduc on December 13, 1863 led by the parish priest, Fr. Ignacio Manzanares, OSA and some of the members of principalia including Pablo M. Luciano, gobernadorcillo of Magalang at that time.
In 1885, the agricultural experiment station La Granja Modelo de Luzon was transferred from San Isidro, Nueva Ecija to the foothills in Mt. Arayat, which become the present Pampanga State Agricultural University.
The revolutionary government took over the local government on June 12, 1898 led by General Francisco Macabulos and Colonel Lorenzo D. Camaya. During that time, Magalang was one of the revolutionary centers in Pampanga due to its proximity to Camansi, a revolutionaries’ headquarters located in Mt. Arayat. The forces of Major General Servillano Aquino defended Magalang against Americans until it was successfully captured on November 5, 1899 led by Major General Arthur MacArthur and Colonel Jacob H. Smith. On January 1, 1942, Japanese forces defeated the Filipino-American forces composed of Igorot troops led by Major Helmert Duisterhof and Capt. Russell W. Volckmann, paving the way for the capture of Magalang. It was liberated by the 148th Infantry of 37th Division, US Army with the help of Hukbalahap on January 25, 1945. It was one of the hotbeds of Huk insurgency until the rebellion was crushed in 1954.
On December 28, 1963, Mayor Benedicto T. Dayrit was assassinated by the alleged men of Commander Sumulong during a night ball in the town plaza. In 1968, Mayor Daniel T. Lacson was sworn in as mayor of Magalang until his term ended in 1986. During the tenure of Mayor Pastor Z. Guiao, Magalang was named as one of the cleanest municipalities in the Philippines. Mayor Maria Lourdes P. Lacson was sworn in on June 30, 2016, as the first woman mayor of Magalang.