It was in 1835 that the town was founded under the Spaniards, but it was only in 1903 when the place became a municipality, after the Americans asked the leaders of Catmon and the nearby settlement of Sogod to merge into one, single municipality. The town was first established by Miguel (Martinez y de la Fuente) and he built the first Heritage site in Catmon the “Bantayan Sa Hari” or the Church Fort.
Like most other Forifications in Cebu the Bantayan sa Hari of Catmon served as the last line of defense in case of a Moro Pirate attack. This Bantayan was built after the fortifications in southern Cebu around 1835-1842 when Miguel Martinez de la fuente was in charge of Catmon, because of the heavily fortified south the pirates migrated north to less developed towns like Liloan,Danao and eventually Catmon. Only one side of the structure remains relatively intact with a high wall 7 meters high and 1 meter thick. The Watchtower to the right of the photo above is in a octagonal shape and has crenelations. The entire structure is made of Argamasa and Coral rubble. The site is strategic, being located atop a hill with good views of the sea. However, for reasons that have not been established, as far as what I read from my sources, it was eventually abandoned, after Fr. Miguel left, in favor of another site, where the present church and convent, including ruins of the Escuela Catolica were built. The site is inside the public elementary school.
The ruins of the old Escuela Catolica are behind the San Guillermo de Aquitania church they are made of Coral Stone Argamasa. Bothered by the ignorance of the parishioners to the rudiments of faith, Padre Francisco Bergasa constructed a Parochial School of stone masonry which he called “Escuela Catolica” in 1879. Here, the parishioners learned the basics of the faith, the “cartilla” and letters. It was destroyed during a skirmish in Catmon in the Spanish American war of 1899.
History recounts that an Augustinian Recollect born on 1771 from Salinas in the Diocese of Jaca, Spain. Before coming to Cebu, he was the Prior of manila in 1806 and was later transferred to Cebu where he became Prior. He was soon elected Provincial in 1828 He died in 1844 while on the way to Cebu from manila when he was shipwrecked near eastern Mindoro. His remains were found in Calapan, Mindoro
Padre MANUEL GIMENEZ, successor to Padre Juseu, continued the work on the construction of the church, and at the end of his term, he was able to finish the walls of the edifice including the framework for the roof which he provisionally covered with nipa and cogon leaves. In spite of his being kept very busy on the church, Padre Gimenez still managed to construct some stone bridge, one near the municipal “tribunal” and the other at the exit of the town towards Sogod town.
The completion of the church façade and the dome of the belfry was taken cared by another Recollect priest, Padre RAMON MIRAMON, who was parish priest for six years. This amazing architectural feat only proved the fact that Padre RAMON was not only an engineer at heart but a genius of his time. He later on built another stone bridge in the sitio of Manobo. He was a real model for the priest of the “Indios’, consecrating his health and life for the assistance of the sick and the poor. Stories were told that he spent entire nights at their bedsides forgetting even to eat unless reminded by his companions or servants.
-Source https://catmoncebu.webs.com/
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