Sam Phran District

History

The district was established in 1896, then named Talat Mai district. It was renamed to Sam Phran in 1917.

Geography

The district is elongated in an East-West direction and neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) Mueang Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Chai Si and Phutthamonthon of Nakhon Pathom Province, Thawi Watthana and Nong Khaem of Bangkok, Krathum Baen and Ban Phaeo of Samut Sakhon Province, and Bang Phae of Ratchaburi Province.

The main water resource of the district is the large Tha Chin river or Nakhon Chai Si river which meanders through the district in a south-easterly direction.

Sam Phran district has evolved as a ribbon development of tambons (sub districts) along Phetkasem Road, a major thoroughfare linking Bangkok with the cities of Nakhon Pathom and Kanchanaburi, their urban roadside appearance giving the aspect of a highly built up area. Behind the rows of shop-houses however, are compact 'village' communities of town houses with their own micro-infrastructure, factories and rice fields.

Demography

As in most of Central Thailand, the people are a mix of Thai and Chinese ethnic origins. The local population also includes a large number of people who have migrated from Isan, Thailand's northeastern region, to be part of the labour force in the many factories in the area. The actual city centre of Sam Phran is located about one kilometre to the south of the Phetkasem Road at the western extremity of the district. Sampran has a very high percentage of Roman Catholic Christians.

Culture and Economy

Sam Phran is well known for its large number of clothing and apparel factories, many of which work exclusively as out-sourced labour centres for famous international brands. Intensive pig farming is another major economic activity.Of the two main townships, Sam Phran City retains the aspect of a country town while Om Yai is located directly on the Phetkasem Road and is a very busy shopping, business, market and factory area, with modern facilities including malls, clinics and hospitals.The sub district of Tha Kham (usually written Takham), is the heartland of the Roman Catholic Christian religion in Thailand. Michael Michai Kitbunchu, Cardinal of Thailand was born in Sam Phran and many Catholic religious institutes have their convents, monasteries and headquarters in the area and there is also Thailand's major seminary. The largest and most important installation in the Catholic enclave of Tha Kham, (and also in Sam Phran), is the vast campus shared by Joseph Upatham School one of the largest combined kindergarten, primary and secondary schools in the country, the main institution of the 43 schools and colleges governed by the Education Department of Bangkok Archdiocese (EDBA), and the Ban Phu Waan Pastoral Training Centre - a leading Catholic conference and convention centre in Asia. There are several other large private schools in Takham including St. Peter's school (mixed gender, Grades 1 through 9 and kindergarten) also governed by the EDBA in the parish of St. Peter, a village and factory community about 2 kilometres from the main highway in the south of Tha Kham, and Marie Upatham, an independent Catholic school for girls in the Takham village of Mor Sii.

Sam Phran city is the location of the National Police Academy and numerous other colleges including St. Joseph Intertechnology College, a Catholic vocational school and teacher training centre also governed by the EDBA. The Rose Garden in Takham, is a large complex of gardens, restaurants, an international hotel and business centre along the Chai Si River. It is a major tourist destination providing high quality scheduled shows and demonstrations of Thai culture. The Sampran Elephant Ground and Crocodile Farm is one of the largest of its kind, providing regular shows of Thai culture by trained elephants and crocodiles. The venue is on the list of every Thai child's school trips.

Administration

The district is subdivided into 16 subdistricts (tambon), which are further subdivided into 137 villages (muban). Sam Phran is a town (thesaban mueang) and Om Yai a subdistrict municipality (thesaban tambon). There are further 15 tambon administrative organizations (TAO).