Tagudin

The name of the municipality was derived from a native cotton drying rack called "tagudan." A Spaniard who came to the place asked for its name, wrote it as the settlement when told by a resident, who thought that he was asking the name of the traditional apparatus she was using.^{[citation needed]}

According to William Scott, "Chinese and Japanese ships bartered gold in Tagudin in Juan de Salcedo's day."^[6]

Records of Saint Augustine's Parish record that Spanish Conquistadors headed by Juan de Salcedo, together with the Augustinian missionaries, started to move northward from Manila in 1571. On 5 January 1586 they founded the first towns of Laoag, Bulatao, Kaog and Tagudin.^[7]

In 1818, Tagudin became a part of Ilocos Sur and thus the southern gateway to the province. The first two sundials were constructed in Tagudin in 1841 and 1845, respectively, by Father Juan Sorolla.

On 18 August 1908, Tagudin replaced Alilem as the capital of the sub-province of Amburayan,^[8] which included Lepanto (that became a sub-province now included in the province of Benguet), Angkaki (now Quirino), Suyo, and Alilem (now with Ilocos Sur), and Sudipen, Santol, and San Gabriel (formerly with Ilocos Sur but became part of La Union).^[7][9]

Tagudin was made the site of the Base Hospital of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines-Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL) in 1945 during World War II. It was also the site of the military general headquarters of the USAFIP-NL 121st Infantry Regiments under the Philippine Commonwealth Army. The decisive Battle of Bessang Pass started in this municipality, at Bitalag.

The Municipality of Tagudin is bordered to the north by the municipality of Santa Cruz to the north, Suyo and Alilem to the east, and the province of La Union to the south by Bangar and Sudipen, La Union. The town is accessible via Bessang Pass.

Tagudin is situated 91.45 kilometres (56.82 mi) from the provincial capital Vigan, and 313.01 kilometres (194.50 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

In the 2024 census, Tagudin had a population of 41,606 people.^[17] The population density was 280 inhabitants per square kilometre (730/sq mi).

Poverty incidence of Tagudin

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}

The Tagudin Schools District Office governs the operations of all private and public elementary and high school throughout the municipality.^[27]