The town of Vinzons appeared in early historical records as “Tacboan”, one of the reducciones formed by Spanish missionaries in the region of Bicol in 1581 to reorganize existing native settlements for ecclesiastical governance. The name could be traced to the word “takbuhan” that early inhabitants used to refer to the place where they took refuge whenever pirates marauded their coastal settlements.

In 1611, under the tutelage of Fray Juan de Losar, OFM, a church (Parroquia de San Pedro Apostol) was built in Tacboan in honor of St. Peter the Apostle. In 1624, the parish was moved to another site (its current location) and became known as Yndan.

The town pattern of Yndan followed the prevailing pueblo system in the country during the Spanish colonial period, with the old stone church (and convent annex) situated opposite the town hall (ayuntamiento), a marketplace nearby, and the cluster of native settlements surrounding the town center complex (cabecera or población). The town became prey to pirate raids in the late 1700s until the early 1800s, a period when trade and commerce was flourishing in the Bicol region. An 1825 report by Antonio Siguenza noted of a road connecting rice-producing Yndan with the adjacent center of commerce, Daet.

The town reported no resistance during the American occupation of the Philippine archipelago at the turn of the century. Partido de Daet became the American seat of power in the province of Ambos Camarines, covering the towns of Basud, Capalonga, Daet, Indan, Labo, Mambulao, Paracale, San Vicente, and Talisay.

In 1946, Indan was renamed in honor of Wenceslao Quinito Vinzons, the youngest delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1935, governor of Camarines Norte in 1940, congressman-elect in 1941, and illustrious guerrilla leader martyred by the Japanese during World War II.

Over the years, Vinzons as a town has attained a level of socioeconomic progress at par with other municipalities in the region, owing to the joint efforts of the local population and the government.