A Brief History of Baguio City

The area now known as Baguio City was first called Kafagway and occupied by the
Kankaney and Ibaloi tribes of the Cordilleras.

Spanish Occupation. During their occupation of the Philippines, the Spanish colonizers
conducted a series of expeditions, led by Juan Salcedo in 1572 and Don Q. M. Quirante in
1694 to the cool mountains of Benguet.
A series of failed attempts
to conquer the natives
were made until foothold
was finally gained by Commandante de Galvey in 1846, when he was able to establish
a commandancia or military garrison in a beautiful stretch of fertile flat land.
This he named after his wife, and is now known as La Trinidad. Galvey went on to establish
the province of Benguet with 31 'rancherias' (camps or rural settlements). The area known
as Kafagway was then a small rancheria composed of about 20 houses. La Trinidad remains
the capital of Benguet province to this date. The 'presidentia' (civil government) was first
established in the Guisad Valley area. It was later moved to the present site of the Baguio
City Hall.
One of the notable contributions of the Spanish era was the introduction of coffee, of the
arabica variety, which is still grown in this area and known as Benguet coffee.

American Occupation. When the Americans arrived in Baguio, after Spain ceded the
entire Philippine islands to the United States of America for $20,000.00, they found the
pine-covered hills and the cool heights ideal for retreats from the sweltering heat of the
lowlands. In what was termed a "supreme feat of engineering" they carved Kennon
Road from the mountains surrounding the Bued River Canyon, connecting Kafagway to the
Pangasinan and Ilocos lowlands.

Japanese Occupation. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor the war in the Pacific
broke out and the Philippines, being the only colony of the United States, became a prime

target. The Japanese bombed Baguio on December 8, 1941 and occupied it on December 27
of the same year, setting up their headquarters at Camp John Hay. However, the war
eventually changed course and on September 3, 1945, General Yamashita formally
surrendered to the Americans at the US Ambassador's residence in Camp John Hay, after
which, Baguio immediately set to the task of rehabilitation.
Philippine Independence. When the Philippines was granted independence in 1946,
Baguio City resumed its role as the Summer Capital of the Philippines, with Camp John Hay
being retained by the Americans under the RP-US Bases Agreement.
During summers, the whole of the Philippine Government conducted its business in the City
of Pines, a tradition that is continued today only by the Philippine Supreme Court. This
partly accounts for the ownership of a lot of beautiful vacation homes by the country's
oldest families in areas like Leonard Wood Road, Park Drive and South Drive. Most of the
prime property in Baguio City is owned by the national government: Cabinet Hill, Engineer's
Hill, Supreme Court Compound, Court of Appeals Compund, Comelec Compound.
Baguio was the Philippines' top tourist destination from 1946 until July 16, 1990, when a 7.7
magnitude earthquake hit the city, after which it rebuilt quickly and all traces of the
devastation removed.
Camp John Hay was turned over to the Philippine Government on July 1, 1991
simultaneously with the turnover of all U.S. Bases in the Philippines, and was, in turn,
awarded to a private developer in 1997 on a long-term lease contract.