Its wood was highly valued for crafting interior boards of houses, while its fruits, when soaked in oil, were used to produce a deep red dye for handwoven textiles.

The tree also held cultural importance, as its large canopy provided a gathering space for the "indios infieles" a term used by Spanish colonizers to describe non-Christianized natives who performed traditional rituals beneath its shade.

The beautiful and sturdy handwoven products made by the women of that time even found their way to Europe and it was said that some of these materials were used as boat sails by European seamen.

Through the Superior Decreto (Executive Decree) signed by Governor-General Antonio Maria Blanco on March 2, 1850, the town of Bangar was made part of the newly created province of La Union.

Male peasants were distinguished by their simple camisa de chino and loose pants tied to the waist by braided strings.

Female peasants wore simple loose blouses and ankle-length skirts, with a camison, made from cotton fabric, worn underneath.

Men of the upper class were distinguished by the barong and camisa de chino made of fine fabric, and trousers cut in the western style.

Ladies wore the "Maria Clara" or the camisa with embroidered and stitched butterfly sleeves and matching panuelo.

A perfumed fan and a big handkerchief trimmed with lace, hanging on the right side of the skirt tucked to her waistline, was part of the attire.

On Sundays and holidays of obligation, a mantilla made of lace, which covered the head down to the waist and tucked to the hair by a gold pin was obligatory for the Holy Mass.

[citation needed] The impact of World War II was first felt in Bangar on December 8, 1941, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Jose Brillantes, the parish priest, was hastily canceled and churchgoers had to hurry home after the Holy Mass as they immediately prepared for evacuation.

[citation needed] Sometime in 1944, on the day Bangar was celebrating the birthday of Emperor Hirohito with a program at the town plaza, a truckload of Japanese soldiers arrived with a lone Filipino who was said to have been captured somewhere in Bacnotan.

Its agricultural products include rice, corn, sugar cane, peanuts, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and Virginia tobacco.

The northernmost town of La Union, alongside Sudipen, Bangar is also the smallest municipality in the province with an area of 3,736 hectares (9,230 acres).

Poverty incidence of Bangar Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Bangar, belonging to the first congressional district of the province of La Union, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code.