The history of Enrile dates back to 1690. According to Father Juan Paguere, it was just a wide and long stretch of virgin land located at the southernmost end of the province of Cagayan. In 1718, the colonial government ordered the place to become one of the barrios of Tuguegarao. It was named "Cabugag" or Cabug, the local term for hunchback for the first settler was a man with this deformity. So the place was named after him. The name "Cabug" is engraved on the town's first church bell which is still found in the steeple. In 1724, the
Dominican Friars thought of giving the barrios their Patron Saint. Cabug was given "Nuestra Señora de las Caldas". The prominent residents of the barrio had chosen the sixth day of August as her feast day. As years went by, the land area and population of the barrio increased with surprising figures. The
Cagayan River which flowed close to the barrio site gradually changed its course and moved towards Cataggaman as flood plains were formed. The non-Christian inhabitants called
Kalingas gradually deserted the barrio and migrated westward to the
Mountain Province. As a result, more agricultural lands were cleared and cultivated. Tobacco and corn were the chief crops of the people. In September 1849, the colonial government ordered the separation of Cabug from the Municipality of Tuguegarao to become a town by itself. The new town was named Enrile in honor of Governor Pascual Enrile who was responsible for building roads in the northern part of Luzon during those days. The separation of Enrile from Tuguegarao led to a change of its patron saint. The population unanimously adopted "
Nuestra Señora de las Nieves" as its patron Saint. The fifth day of August was chosen as her feast day. Enrile's parish church as well as Sinupac, a hinterland of Enrile, was the hiding place of
Emilio Aguinaldo and his revolutionary forces while evading pursuit from American forces during the
First Philippine Republic. The locals prepared feasts for the president during his refuge. == Geography ==