Carcar, formerly called Sialo or Siaro is a gem of a town, having preserved some striking examples of colonial architecture both Spanish and American. Carcar was one terminus of the coal fed train that linked Cebu with this prosperous town. Carcar was originally located at Barrio Valladolid but because of frequent slave raids was moved to its present site, the church being built on a hill for greater security. On 23 May 1559, the convent of Carcar, under the advocacy of the Visitation of the Virgin, was established. Although the Augustinian council authorized the provincial to appoint a resident priest, the authorization was reaffirmed in 1601 and 1607 when Fr. Juan de Ricobayo was appointed to the position. Apparently Carcar remained a visita of the Santo Niño convent in Cebu. In 1611, Carcar was placed under San Nicolas and in 1617 became independent from it. From 1620 onwards, the ancient name Sialo or Siaro was not longer used in documents but instead Cabcar and Carcar. Carcar had an extensive territory reaching up to Tañon (Santander). In 1690 the territory was divided in two with Boljoon forming a separate entity with Oslob and Tañon as visitas.

The first buildings of Carcar were burnt during a raid, though the date is uncertain. One of Carcar's bell bears the date 1810 suggesting that a church was already finished by the early 19^th century.

The present church, probably the third or second church of Carcar, was begun in 1860 by Fr. Antonio Manglamo, continued by Fr. Gabriel González and completed by Fr. Fernández Rubio, who had the interior painted. Fr. Rubio also built the convento and a road connecting the town with the beach. A typhoon in 1876 damaged the roof of the church and convento.

Heritage Features: The façade has been described as Moorish influenced because of the recessed arch of the main entrance resembling an iwan of a Middle Eastern mosque and the twin bell towers capped by onion-shaped domes reminiscent of minarets. The bell towers have no openings except for the highest story where ogee arches are used for the bells. The lower story is flanked by a one story structure corresponding to the aisles that flank the main nave.

The interior of the church is embellished with a coffered ceiling, and the arcade separating the nave from the aisle by carved cherub heads. The altars are Neoclassical.

The church is surrounded by a low fence of coral stone and wrought iron. Images of eleven apostles have been added to the fence. The twelfth apostle, Judas stands all alone on a pedestal in front of the convento. The convento is an independent structure separated from the church by a road.

On the same hill as the church are American period buildings: a school and a clinic on a hill. Both are decorated with gingerbread cutout in the manner of Victorian houses. At the foot of the hill is a small plaza decorated with statues. A number of old houses are found at the foot of the hill. Off the población is an abandoned railway station, a terminus of the Cebu-Carcar line.