Binalonan : "binna-lonan"

Records show that many years before the advent of the American Regime, Binalonan was a mere piece of uninhabited land with a crude wooden fence around it. This lot belonged to a wealthy landlord whose named was Don Slavador, a resident of Manaoag.

Before approaching the once insignificant place, two majestic camachile trees, recognizable at a far away distance, caught the attention of all passerby. The landscape was flat and covered with grass where the owner, Don Salvador pastured his large cattle. Most of the workers were Ilocanos. The camachile trees stood in the center of this land where the graziers used to shade and under which they had their lunch. When laborers arrived here, they used to hung their lunch bags on any of the two trees. It became the meeting place of graziers who often times greeted each other, especially during lunch time "binna-lonan," which means "everyone brought their own baon."

As there were many immigrants from Ilocos Region coming to Manaoag, this rich man sent them to this inhabitable place. Seeing that the place was flourishing, they brought their own families and resided here permanently. A sizeable village started to progress and became larger as there were many immigrants pouring in. eventually, to make the place distinct and known from other places, they called it Binalonan. #