San Francisco, Cebu
municipality of the Philippines in the province of Cebu
San Francisco, officially the Municipality of San Francisco (Cebuano: Lungsod sa San Francisco; Tagalog: Bayan ng San Francisco), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 61,092 people.
History
Protohistory
Carl Guthe, director of the University of Michigan Anthropological Museum, during his 1923–25 collecting trip and explorations of archaeological sites in the Philippines, conducted an archeological dig in a cave site on Tulang. Located on the southeastern coast of the island, the cave measures about 3.7 by 2.7 metres (12 by 9 feet). Guthe reported it to contain bone fragments and teeth of about 60 individuals. Associated grave goods included earthenware pottery, shell bracelets, bronze and iron artefacts (iron tang, bronze chisel, iron blade), glass and stone beads, hammerstone and pestle. Filed teeth were also recovered from this site.
21st century
Just before Typhoon Yolanda struck in November 2013, the mayor of San Francisco ordered the evacuation of all the residents (approximately 1,000) to the main island. This was credited with saving their lives as all houses on the island (about 500) were completely destroyed.
Geography
San Francisco consists primarily of Pacijan (also known as Pajican) and Tulang (area less than 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi), just north of Pacijan) islands, which are part of the Camotes Islands (which also include Poro and Ponson islands).
The public source identifies “San Francisco, Cebu” as municipality of the Philippines in the province of Cebu. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Francisco, Cebu and municipality.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “San Francisco, Cebu”, the useful work is to connect “municipality of the Philippines in the province of Cebu” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q316332. VIAF identifies the subject as 44147121678226390940. The Library of Congress control number is n2016226692. Authority coordinates are 10.650, 124.350. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024, 1923 and 2013.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “San Francisco, Cebu” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.