San Nicolas

', officially the ', is a of the Philippines in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people.HistoryThe present name of San Nicolas was given in the year 1733, after Saint Nicholas de Tolentino who was believed to have protected the people against floods, earthquakes, fires, typhoons and other calamities. It is significant that in Ilocos Norte, only San Nicolas was named after a Saint.Like any other town in the ancient province of (Ilocos Province)San Nicolas was established by (Augustinian)missionaries. Vigan, the first Spanish mission center in this region, was founded in 1575. In the year 1572, when the Spaniards first explored the Laoag (Padsan) River, they met hostile resistance from the natives of San Nicolas and Laoag. In another expedition dispatched from Vigan in 1584 San Nicolas was established and Laoag followed a year later.San Nicolas Catholic Church built in 1701 is one of the oldest buildings in this province. Its original structure is one of the must see places of the town. The Church and the attached Sta. Rosa Academy Building, the well preserved Municipal Hall and the old Town Plaza sprawled between them constitute the heart of the town center. These buildings and structures are originally built and continue to be festooned with earthen bricks, which is among the products of the surviving local.GeographySan Nicolas is a land-locked town. It is bordered by Laoag on the north and west, by Paoay and Batac to the south and by Sarrat to the east. In terms of area, San Nicolas is the smallest municipality in Ilocos Norte province, but is one of the wealthiest and most populous. Some locals consider the Padsan River, which runs as a border between Laoag and San Nicolas, as part of San Nicolas rather than Laoag.