Sta. Maria Pangasinan

In the course if a routinely visit of a certain priest to the town of Asingan, then the most Eastern town of the province of Pangasinan, he extended his mission farther east and came to a place located in a plain which through little effort could be irrigated by the Agno River. He believed the place could be developed into a prosperous community, inhabited by contented people cosisting only of few adventurous Ilocano families finding the residents to be hospitable, he called on them because that was the day if the Virgin Mary. He officiated a mass and after the mass, in a simple and impressive solemnity, proclaimed the place as Santa Maria to commemorate the day. In the course of time, thr prominent people who found the place, improved the locality. Dona Carmen Villareal-daughter if a well known haciendero during that time donated a five hectares of land for the school ground to become what is now as the Sta.Maria East Integrated School, five hectares of land of for Our Lady of the Pillar Church and a five hectares of land in Barangay Poblacion west which will become the seat of local government center in Sta. Maria, Pangasinan. Her generosity paved the way to transfer of its site from Namagbagan now a barrio of municipality, to its present site near a clay promontory which formed an impregnable defense againts a yearly erosion of the Agno, thus annexing De Pila to original name making Santa Maria De Pila, a name known beyond the confined of the province of Pangasinan and is more noted for this name even to the present

Santa Maria was formerly a barrio of the municipality of Tayug. It was founded on January 10,1855 and became a town under the rule of Captain up to 1863 and that effective the following year, the municipality was fused to the municipality of Tayug because of its inability to maintain the financial stability of the town. It was in 1877 when its inhabits had applied from the municipality of Tayug to rule again. A Royal Decree was passed on September 6,1875 declaring Sta. Maria as a separated town.

The municipality of Santa Maria is now made up of twenty three barangays ( Samon, Cal-litang, Pilar, Cauplasan, Paitan, San Alejandro, Pob. West, San Vicente, San Patricio, Sta.Rosa, Pob East, Pugot, San Mariano, Bal-loy, Caboluan, Pataquid, Sta.Cruz, San Pablo, Dalayap, Bantog, Capandanan, Libsong,Namagbagan), excluding sitios and most of its agricultural. Cognizing of the very significant name if Sta.Maria which was taken from the name if Virgin Mary.