It was in 1901 when residents of the place started dreaming of forming their barangays into a town. That dream, dotted by passion, drama and commitment was frequently disturbed by jolting nightmares.These included imprisonment of the area's elders, undeserved insults as well as the intolerable cruelty, pugnacity of and haughty intimidations by some of their town officials. As the suffocating smoke of the Philippine-American war. vanished into thin air following the victory of the occupying forces, armed men sneaked into homes and robbed the residents of whatever valuables they had.

On July 7, 1901, Ignacio Lafrades convened the first group of 100 plus village leaders and suggested they should build their houses closer to each other for easier communication and faster physical help in the event of any emergency. They had themselves previously chosen to unite and would call their town Pinili, which preceded the subsequent suggestion of Catholic priest Gregorio Aglipay, vicar general of the Philippine Revolutioanry Government and who set up his Northern Luzon headquarters against the Americas with guerill fighters known in the area as Sandataan in kullabeng, in the bosom of what is today the town of Pinili.