THE NAME "URDANETA"

How the town got its name? The written history of the town reveals up to this day, after a research, there 7ve is no competent and conclusive authority as whether the town had another name before it officially became URDANETA.

One theorizes that its original name is ORGANITA, roughly meaning "little organ or unit." This is plausible as it was then, a composite of portions of barrios of the adjacent towns where they converged to create one composite pueblo. The group, the so-called purists, belie this by saying that the Spanish root word is organo; therefore the right word should be organito. The theorists maintain their stand, citing that education at that time was centered in the Poblacion and so the people in the hinterlands were neglected thus resulting in bad grammar.

The written history of the town reveals that the community was organized into a pueblo on January 8, 1858. Then it is probable that its first "cura parroco" by the name of of Nicolas Alozno Manrique. He name the new town Urdaneta, in honor of another friar, Fr. Andres de Urdaneta, the spiritual adviser of the expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi which arrived in Cebu to explore the country on April 27, 1565.

Though other issues still exist. Was the town named after Fr. Andres Urdaneta or Fr. Miguel de Urdaneta or Fr. Simon de Urdaneta? The archives of the national Library state that it was after Miguel de Urdaneta. The Historian Fr. Jose Ma. Gonzales in his book "Labor Evangelica y Civilizadora de los Religioso Dominicos en Pangasinan" was silent on this. Some articles on the town's history say that it was after Fr. Simon de Urdaneta while others claim it was after Fr. Andres de Urdaneta.

The fast socio-economic growth of Urdaneta may be due to the cattle industry and the wholesale market. Be it as it may, Urdaneta of 1858 which kept pace with the progress and development of the state to become the Urdaneta of today - a peaceful, progressive and pleasant place to stay for everyone. The growth of the industry may be due to the industry of the townspeople, it is deemed proper to give credit for the development to the town executives who served and steered with dedication towards progress. During their tenure of office, the of some local officials may have been lackluster, nevertheless, many are best remembered for their achievements and performances during their administration.