The Town of Tanauan was founded on its present location in 1754, having been transferred from the fringe of Taal Lake where it was originally situated. It is generally believed that Tanauan, together with Sala was originally founded in 1572 by the Augustinian missionaries who built mission at the shore of the Lake known as Bonbon (now Taal). The town, however, was totally destroyed during the most impressive and catastrophic historically recorded eruption of Taal Volcano in 1754. together with the Community of Sala, the residents of Tanauan were relocated to safer places. Tanauan moved to Bañadero, then to its present location. Sala, on the other hand, transferred from its original site to where it is located. Sala subsequently became the barangay of Tanauan.
Tanaueños have displayed characteristics of personal independence of personal independence and nationalism since early history. The town is called the cradle of noble heroes due to its contribution to the revolutionary movement of its sons Apolinario Mabini, the brains of Katipunan, and later by the great statesman Pres. Jose P. Laurel. Also, three Tanaueños served as governors of Batangas, namely: Jose P. Laurel V, Modesto Castillo, and Nicolas Gonzales.
The seats of the city government of Tanauan was established in the present site in March 1960. Prior to this time, the municipal offices occupied a concrete building in the eastern end of Mabini Avenue at the Poblacion, fronted by the present Catholic Church and the Modesto Castillo Cultural Center. The old municipal building which destroyed during the world War II was reconstructed and no housed the city library, social hall, and city museum.
What’s in a name? there are two versions of how Tanauan got its name.
In the first version, some people believe that Tanauan derived its name from the Tagalog term “tanaw” meaning to look after through the window. This is based on a fortress which had a watchtower built by the Augustian friars and natives. The watchtower allowed them to monitor incoming “champans” or boats entering through the Pansipit river, which were either traders or pirates. From this tower, one can have a clear view (tanaw) of the lake and of the vast plains and rolling hills.
The other version, supported by a research study of the National Historical Commission, says that the town was named after a shrub called “tanawa” which grew abundantly in the area and on the sides of “Lake Bonbon” during the towns early history.
The City of Tanauan has a total land area of 10,716 square kilometers. The soil types are: loam, lipa loam, lipa loam deep phase, tagaytay sandy loam and taal loam which will make the place conducive to agricultural production.
As per comprehensive land use plan, zones are classified as built-up industrial, tourism, forest, agricultural, cemeteries, dumping site and roads. The urban areas account to 18.5 hectares while rural areas are close to 2,373 hectares.
Major crops such as vegetables, coconuts, sugarcanes, fruits, corns, rice and root crops abundantly grow and produced in the agricultural areas.
Tanauan is located on the northeastern part of Batangas province. It is bounded on the north of Laguna, northwest by the municipality of Malvar, southwest by the shores of Taal Lake, and in the east by the municipality of Sto. Tomas.
The city is composed of 48 barangays, 7 of which are in the Poblacion, with a total land area of 10,716 hectares. The Poblacion is located on the southeastern border of the city and is traverses by the Pres. J.P. Laurel Highway linking Tanauan to manila on the north for about 68 kilometers and to Batangas City on the south for 45 kilometers.
As of 2000, the population of Tanauan was 117,539 with an annual growth rate of 2.68%. Total number of house holds was 21, 912. population density was 1.096 persons per square kilometer. By the year 2005, population is estimated to reach 134,156.
The people are dominantly tagalog with Malay as its native root, while English language is used as medium of communication in business and education. With the passage of time, a mixture of various folks and mores migrated to the city.
Roman catholic constitute the dominant sect in the city with Protestants, Iglesia ni Cristo, Born again Christians and other Evangelical Churches forming the minority denominations.
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Dr. Meredith Grey: At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. It's like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it's not so important happy ever after, just that its happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you , and once in a while people may even take your breath away.
