Town History

The municipality of Leganes started as a small settlement in what is now known as Brgy. Guihaman. Back in the early 1840s, this was the place where "guiham" or wild boars stayed. As the population of this small settlement flourished, so did its economic activities. With the influx of migrants from nearby Jaro and Sta. Barbara, trade and commerce began to prosper. In 1858, to avoid the Php600.00 fine to be levied upon its inhabitants, early settlers registered this settlement as a "Pueblo". In compliance with the decree of Don Isidro A. Brudit, Spanish Governor of Iloilo in 1856, the place bore the name "Valencia", a town in Spain whose patron is Saint Vincent Ferrer, based on historical account, the founders of this pueblo were Don Angel Gustilo, Don Mariano, Don Jacinto Sandoval, Don Lorenzo Gustilo, Don Juan Hilado, Don Fulgencio Espino and Don Miguel Valencia. It wasn't long before these founders engaged in a squabble. They sent a protest and petition to the Alta Mar in Spain, invoking a change of the pueblo's name because it gave unwarranted honor to co-founder, Don Miguel Valencia. Annoyed, the Alta Mar named the town "Leganes", a town in Spain that was of little significance.


source: http://www.otopphilippines.gov.ph/microsite.aspx?rid=7&provid=65&prodid=790&sec=2