An old tale describes that the town of Baclayon was originally called Bacayan (bacay), meaning detour, because travelers used to detour around a rocky cliff along the shore about half kilometer from the municipal building in order to avoid going over the top of the cliff.
The early history of Baclayon renowned to be the first town established in Bohol founded in November 17, 1595 by the two Jesuit priests, Fr. Juan de Torres and Fr. Gabriel Sanchez. A folk story told that when Fr. Juan Torres, SJ arrived in Baclayon, he discovered that some couples came to guide them in the place were already baptized Christians through the earlier contact with the Spaniards, before the arrival of Legazpi in the soil of the Philippines.
The duo succeeded in winning the native’s confidence that through hard work, patience and perseverance they built the Baclayon church which is considered now the oldest stone church in the country. The church is like a fort with a belfry that served as a watchtower for spying the coming of the Muslim (Moro) raiders who used to come and wreck havoc on the people.
During 17th century, on October 26, 1600, a historic event happened in the old town when it was raided by some 300 Maguindanao Moros in 50 war boats led by Datu Sali and Datu Sirongan. Fortunately, their coming was sighted through the belfry, and when the raiders arrived 3 to 4 hours later, the people were nowhere to be found except for 3 old women and an old man. The four were killed and then the raiders sailed away.
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