, 1940 Officially, Pandacan was established as a community in 1574 when
Franciscan priests of the Roman Catholic Church established the first mission in the district. Pandacan was originally part of the parish of
Sampaloc; it was later established as a separate parish in 1712. Pandacan was a farming community, producing small quantities of
rice and
sugar that were sold to the Spanish enclave in
Intramuros. Aside from a few vegetable plots, the old Pandacan produced bricks and tiles, colored cotton laces but in limited quantities. The district also produced shoes and small boats. In the 19th century, Pandacan was described as a "Little
Venice" or "Little
Italy" for its numerous
canals or estuaries leading to the Pasig River. Many would leisurely row through the estuaries in the late afternoons as described by
Francisco Balagtas in his early writings. Pandacan was home to balladeers and a source of musicians in the early times. Late in the Spanish era and into the American regime, Pandacan was developed into becoming the first industrial estate in the Philippines. The first modern manufacturing company was built in Pandacan and was called the
Compañia General de Tabacos de Filipinas in 1882, a modern cigar-making plant. Church (prior to the 2020 fire) The first stone church in Pandacan was built in 1732 by Father Francisco del Rosario. It was completed in 1760 but was destroyed twice by earthquakes. A modern church stood on the ruins including a parish school which stands on what was the Catholic cemetery of the district. The church was destroyed by fire on July 10, 2020. Pandacan was home to prominent Filipino artists of the 19th century, including
Francisco Baltazar (also known as Balagtas) who authored
Florante at Laura; musician
Ladislao Bonus;
Tagalog language theorist
Lope K. Santos; and playwrights
Miguel Masilungan and
Pantaleon Lopez. By the turn of the 19th century, the American colonial government decreed Pandacan as the center for industrial activity and had oil companies build their storage and distribution facilities in the district. With the presence of several manufacturing facilities in the district, a modern housing facility was built to house the workers at the nearby oil depots. The housing project was called "Kapitan Tikong" (Captain Tikong) subdivision, named after a popular local leader. The housing facility was built on the southeastern banks of the Estero de Beata. In honor of Francisco Baltazar, the streets in the subdivision were named after the characters of
Florante at Laura. ==Modernization==