"BRIEF HISTORY OF CURRIMAO ILOCOS NORTE"

   

    Because Currimao is the only navigable part of Ilocos Norte, the early settlement of the place which was then a barrio of the town of Paoay could be traced back as early as the later part or the 19th century. Traders in the port sold or bartered their goods with those of the few inhabitants.

    Permanent settlement in the place actually began in 1865 when the Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas inaugurated its trade line between Manila and Apani, thus making Currimao an intermediate port. The creation of Currimao in 1869 as a permanent storehouse of the Compania greatly con­tributed to the growth of this town. Many people from Paoay, Batac and some towns of Ilocos Sur,who were originally peddling and trading with the in­habitants of Currimao, wanted to live in the place permanently. Among the descendants of the early settlers are the members of the Quiamas, Aglipay, Ginman, Hurtado, Guerrero, and Quitoriano families.

   Currimao became a municipality by virtue of Executive Order No. 59 issued by the then Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison on December 28, 1920. It was inaugurated, therefore, on Anuary 21, 1921 with the late Julian Aglipay as the first Municipal President

    The town came to being through the joint petition of the Union Obrem and the people of the barrios of Currimao (Pias, Gaang, Maglaoi, and Pangil) which are now its integral parts.

Origin of its Name

    During the Spanish regime, when the Galleon Trade Was still flourishing, Moro pirates frequented the coast of the China Sea . To protect the natives from these pirates, the Spanish authorities built two watchtowers at two strategic points, one at the tip of what is now called Arboledan Point and the other at Tone.

    Whenever pirates appeared on the horizon to attack the villages, the people manning the watchtowers warned the people by shouting correr which means "to run." As soon as the natives heard the shouts, they would hide to save themselves. During those times, the pirates were known among the natives as Cumaws, a name which struck fear and terror among the people.

    It was from these two words that the name Currimao was derived.