Las Piñas was one of the earliest fishing settlements on the shores of Manila Bay. It was proclaimed as a town of Manila province either in 1762 or 1797. Agustin de la Cavada, a Spanish historian, and Fr. Juan de Medina placed it at 1762. Las Piñas was formerly called "Las Pilas" due to its separation from Parañaque due to tribal conflicts. On the other hand, Manuel Buzeta recorded the date at 1797. Felix Timbang was the first gobernadorcillo in year 1762 while Mariano Ortiz was the first municipal president of the town of Las Piñas.
Besides being famous for its Bamboo Organ, which was built by Fr. Diego Cera and completed in 1824, the town of Las Piñas was also a major war theater during the 1896 Philippine Revolution, as it was occupied by forces of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. Las Piñas was occupied by the Japanese during World War II and liberated by the combined American and Filipino forces.
In 1901, the municipality of Las Piñas was separated from Manila and incorporated to the newly created province of Rizal pursuant to the Philippine Commission Act No. 137. Two years later, in accordance with Act No. 942, it was combined with the town of Parañaque, with the latter as the seat of a new municipal government.
It was separated from Parañaque to become an independent municipality again on March 27, 1907 by virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 1625. Then, with the founding of the Metropolitan Manila Area or Metro Manila in 1976, Las Piñas became one of the municipalities making up the region.