General Plan of Masungay Bridge
March 30, 1872, ink on cloth, 19 x 45 cm

The Chief Engineer of Iloilo Province presented this general plan of Masungay Bridge on March 30, 1872 with his signature and seal. It was forwarded to Inspector General M. Ramirez of Public Works (Obras Publicas) in Manila. The construction of a wooden bridge over Masungay River, in Bacolod, Negros Occidental was approved based on a superior decree done on May 4, 1872.

Located in Metropolitan Bacolod, it is now known as the Magsungay Bridge. The original steel bridge was replaced with a 4-lane concrete bridge with drainage, sidewalk and riprap. The new bridge was inaugurated on December 8, 2020.

San Sebastian de Magsungay was originally a coastal settlement with a visita or a small religious mission. It was named after the river that forms a shape of a horn or sungay in Hiligaynon. The people living in the area, who were likely fishermen and their families, abandoned the place due to frequent Moro raids in the 18th century. The townfolks moved inland to a highly elevated area called Bacolod. The new settlement became the capital of Negros Occidental in 1889.

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