History
Before 1827, the settlement that became Castilla was a barrio of Bulabog (in what is now Sorsogon City), formed from the nearby settlements of Inarihan, Capuy, Macalaya, and Cumadcad. Spanish Dominican friars had founded the original town along the western coast of Sorsogon Bay, and in 1827 it was formalized as an independent town under the old Provincia de Albay. Don Eugenio Santos Martinez, a wealthy Spanish landowner native to Castilla, Spain, recommended both relocating the seat of government and renaming the town in honor of his hometown — itself the birthplace of Queen Isabella I of Castile (r. 1451–1504). Castilla received its own parish in 1876, with Father Teodosio Homillano as its first priest; the church’s inauguration fell on the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, June 24, still celebrated locally today. When Sorsogon was separated into its own province in 1894, Castilla was annexed as one of its constituent towns.