A Brief History of Baguio and Teachers' Camp
A Brief History of Baguio and Teachers’ Camp
Reference:
When the Americans settled in the Philippines in 1899, as Westerners they brought with them the belief that “the Tropics are unsuitable for widespread, permanent and prosperous White settlement.” The fear of disease and of the unknown, and the supposed difficulties Westerners encountered when acclimatizing to their new environment, forced the Americans to search for a suitable location for a Summer Resort. Summer resorts are places where one could visit to rejuvenate oneself after enduring the heat of the tropics. For those who had just arrived in the tropics, the Summer Resort aided new arrivals in adjusting to the new climate. The Resort was also a place where one could comfortably recover after an illness.
Official investigation into the possibility of having a summer resort began as early as July 1900. The Commission had heard rumors of a settlement in the mountains of Benguet where the weather was cool, and the landscape full of pine trees. William Howard Taft, head the first Philippine Commission, appointed Dean Worcester (accompanied by Luke E. Wright) to investigate the rumors, and to explore the opportunities of having a health resort up in the Mountains of Benguet. Worcester was the only American official to have lived in the Philippines during the Spanish period. He was a zoologist by profession, and was quite traveled in the Philippines. He was therefore the perfect candidate to head the expedition.
The Worcester and his party left for the expedition on July 1900. After one week in Trinidad Valley, Worcester returned to Manila and strongly urged the government to develop Baguio. According to Worcester, Baguio could:
1. Assist in the acclimatization because of the cool weather;
2. Help those who were sick or wounded to recuperate comfortably; and
3. Save the government millions of pesos by creating an alternative vacation destination.
During the hot summer months, it
Reference:
When the Americans settled in the Philippines in 1899, as Westerners they brought with them the belief that “the Tropics are unsuitable for widespread, permanent and prosperous White settlement.” The fear of disease and of the unknown, and the supposed difficulties Westerners encountered when acclimatizing to their new environment, forced the Americans to search for a suitable location for a Summer Resort. Summer resorts are places where one could visit to rejuvenate oneself after enduring the heat of the tropics. For those who had just arrived in the tropics, the Summer Resort aided new arrivals in adjusting to the new climate. The Resort was also a place where one could comfortably recover after an illness.
Official investigation into the possibility of having a summer resort began as early as July 1900. The Commission had heard rumors of a settlement in the mountains of Benguet where the weather was cool, and the landscape full of pine trees. William Howard Taft, head the first Philippine Commission, appointed Dean Worcester (accompanied by Luke E. Wright) to investigate the rumors, and to explore the opportunities of having a health resort up in the Mountains of Benguet. Worcester was the only American official to have lived in the Philippines during the Spanish period. He was a zoologist by profession, and was quite traveled in the Philippines. He was therefore the perfect candidate to head the expedition.
The Worcester and his party left for the expedition on July 1900. After one week in Trinidad Valley, Worcester returned to Manila and strongly urged the government to develop Baguio. According to Worcester, Baguio could:
1. Assist in the acclimatization because of the cool weather;
2. Help those who were sick or wounded to recuperate comfortably; and
3. Save the government millions of pesos by creating an alternative vacation destination.
During the hot summer months, it