Sagay, Negros Occidental

Sagay is a component city in the province of Negros Occidental in the Philippines, with 152,543 residents at the 2024 census. The name comes from sigay, the semi-spherical shell found in the area. The settlement was first called Argüelles when Lt. Francisco Rodríguez and Basilio Córdova founded it in 1860 at the mouth of the Bulanon River, and by order of the Spanish governor the town was later moved to Pueblo de Magallanes, now known as Old Sagay, named in honor of Ferdinand Magellan. In 1907 the Insular Lumber Company, reputed to be the biggest hardwood lumber mill in the world, was established in what is now Barangay Fabrica, and the coastal waters of Sagay supported a growing fishing industry.