San Gabriel La Union

The town of San Gabriel is within the eastern most part of the province of La Union. It was formerly called sitio "Baka-Burnotan", derived from the game of the old folks which means "Binnornutan" or Tug of War. Sitio Baka-Burnotan was the place where people in the nearby sitios gathered daily to graze their cattle to play "Binnornutan." The games were played among the Christians and the pagan settlers, who belong to the Kankanaey tribe. During the later years, the name "Baka-Burnotan" was shortened to Burnotan.

Sitio Burnotan became the ideal place to settle because of the wide plain along the river and fertile soil. Intermarriages among Christians and pagan settlers greatly contributed to the increase of the population. In April 19, 1897, the Roman Catholic Church, though the late Fr. Redondo, indoctrinate the pagan settlers with Christian teachings. He established a church and introduced the image of Saint Gabriel to be their patron saint. As a result, many of the pagan inhabitants embraced Christianity and many of them were baptized. The people later decided to change the name of the place to San Gabriel in honor of their patron saint.