San Pablo City Trivia

• San Pablo was formerly called Sampaloc and San Pablo de los Montes
• It was founded by Fr. Hernando Cabrera in 1678.
• San Pablo was annexed to Batangas in 1756 by Gov. de Aranda
• It was returned to Laguna in 1848.
• San Pablo was declared a city on May 7, 1940 by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 520.
• San Pablo City is situated on a plateau 485 ft. above sea level on the lower slopes of Mt. Marayap
• The Cathedral of St. Paul the Hermit was first built with light materials by Fr. Mateo Mendoza in 1586. The second church, made of brick and stone, was built in 1629 by Father Hernando Cabrera. The present building was built in 1714 by Fr. Francisco Eloriaga on a foundation laid down by Fr. Juan Labao in 1680.
• The Franklin Baker Dessicated Coconut Factory is the world's largest.
• Lake Pandin and Lake Yambo are called twin lakes because they are about the same size and share a common ridge on one side
• Villa Escudero, located 10 kms. south of San Pablo City, is an 800-hectare coconut plantation purchased by Placido Escudero and wife Claudia Marasigan in the late 18th century.
• The AERA Memorial Museum, at Villa Escudero, houses the collections (began on June 29, 1923) of Arsenio and Rosario (nee Adap) Escudero and run by the AERA (acronym of the founders’ names) Memorial Foundation. It is housed in an exact replica of the beautiful San Francisco Church in Intramuros (destroyed during the liberation of Manila and now occupied by Mapua Institute of Technology).