On 9 February 1742, the Governor of the Visayas Francisco Antonio Calderon de la Barca separated Tagbilaran from Baclayon and made it a town with the name of "San Jose de Tagbilaran" and dedicated to St. Joseph the Worker. Since then, it was part of the province of Bohol and became officially a component city (a city that is part of a province) on 1 July 1966 by the Republic Act No. 4660.