Like the other towns in Cavite, the municipality of Dasmariñas has an ambivalent history. Originally it was part of Imus until the year 1868, when it was converted into an independent municipality and named Perez-Dasmariñas. Then after nearly 37 years of independent existence Dasmariñas was reverted of Imus, remaining a barrio of the latter until it regained its independence after 12 years in 1917.

Historically, Dasmariñas had played an important role as gateway to the Magdalo revolutionary capital of Imus. It was in the strategic Pasong Santol, in barrio Salitran Dasmariñas, where General Emilio Aguinaldo and later his elder brother General Crispulo Agunaldo fought off Spanish General Jose Lachamber’s troops in seesaw battle, until the elder Aguinaldo was captured.

The origin of the name “Dasmariñas” comes from “Perez Das Mariñas,” a Spanish Governor of the Philippines from 1590 to 1593. After his death, his son Luis Pérez das Mariñas was the governor from 1593 to 1596. Perez das Mariñas came from “San Miguel das Negradas,” Galiza, Spain. Dasmariñas literally means “from the marines” in the Galician language.

One notable place to visit in the town is Museo De La Salle. This museum is a lifestyle museum dedicated to the preservation of certain aspects and material culture of the 19th century Philippine ilustrado lifestyle. The Museo has been realized “to encourage its own use in cross-disciplinary learning and growth in an academic environment, and to provide a living space illustrating Philippine culture that is linked to its immediate community, and that reaches out to those outside.”

The museum building draws inspiration from the 19th century bahay na bato (house of stone), a two-storey building with stone, brick and mortar structure at the ground level, and usually a wood one at the second level. The emergence of the bahay na bato marked the remarkable lifestyle of the 19th century Christian Philippines. A bahay na bato was filled with fine furniture and objects to showcase the owner's wealth, personal style, and status in society. These examples of material culture now serve to document a range of natural and socio-historical notions.Most of the collections consist of antique family heirlooms, furniture, decorative objects, fine and applied arts, donated by the “Joven-Panlilio family of Bacolor, Pampanga, Arnedo-Gonzalez family of Sulipan, Apalit, Pampanga, antique collectors Ms. Marie Theresa Lammoglia-Virata and Jaime C. Laya, and the D. M. Guevarra collection.”