istory and legend has it that the Hispanic name "Pagsanjan" (Pag-sang-han) was originally derived by the early Spanish colonizers from Tagalog word "Pinagsangahan", meaning 'branching' or 'juncture' because it is located where the rivers Balanac and Bumbungan merge to empty into the great Laguna de Bay.
Pagsanjan first loomed in history as barrio of Lumban, a town founded in 1578 by the famous Fray Juan de la Plasencia, a Franciscan missionary-historian. In 1668, the first settlers of Pagsanjan were eight Christian Chinese and Japanese traders who were highly impressed by the strategic location of the barrio at the juncture of two rivers, Balanac and Bumbungan. They established their trading settlement in Pagsanjan and engaged in the betel-nut industry, which in due time became a flourishing trading center of Eastern Laguna. Lured by the burgeoning prosperity of the settlement, many native families from Lumban, Cavinti, Sta. Cruz and Pila migrated to Pagsanjan.
In December 12, 1668, then Governor-General Juan Manuel de la PeÑa Bonifaz issued a gubernatorial decree creating the barrio of Pagsanjan as a town. The first gobernadorcillo elected was Pagsanjan's Cabeza de Barangay Francisco Umale. In 1687, Fray Agustin de la Magdalena became Parish Priest of the newly established Parish. He chose Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe as Pagsanjan's Patroness.
For 170 years (1688 - 1858), Pagsanjan was the capital of the province of Laguna. During this long period, the town basked in the magnificent glow of greatness. Pagsanjan bloomed as the commercial, cultural and learning center of the province, and was called the "Athens of Laguna".
The "Puerta Real" or the Town Gate was constructed from 1878 to 1880. It was inaugurated in 1894 by Don Pedro A. Paterno, and was restored in 1975 by then Mayor Gregorio F. Zaide, an internationally known historian.
Pagsanjan was occupied by the Revolutionarists in 1896; by the Americans in 1899; by the Japanese in 1942; and liberated by the Filipinos in 1945.
In recent years, Pagsanjan has become the premiere, world-class tourist destination in the Philippines, owing to its natural scenic wonders and the most visited waterfalls in the country - the famous "Pagsanjan Falls". Pagsanjan is also a favorite location for the shooting of local and international filmmakers like Francis Ford Copola's "Apocalypse Now", which was filmed here from 1975 to 1976.
