The place Jagalur is supposed to have got its name from a renowned king who had ruled over that region. Another belief is that it is derived from the name of a yogi called 'Jogappa'. On the basis of information obtained from research conducted by Prof. B.L.Rice, there is a 200 year old temple on the bypass road of Jagalur. The temple which is dedicated to god 'Jogappa' was built by the headman of the village. It is said that the place might have obtained its name from 'Jogappa'. A third opinion regarding the source of the name Jagalur is that, at the outskirts of the village there is a shrine dedicated to 'Jagalurajja'. Therefore the village could also have been named after the village god 'Jagalurajja'.
Formerly Jagalur was included in the purview of Chitradurga District. The then Chief Minister Sri J.H. Patel formed a new district Davangere in 1997 and Jagalur was also included into the jurisdiction.
Geographically, the taluk is situated at about 1800 sq.ft. above sea level and it is 48 kms far from Davangere. Rainfall is scanty here. The average annual rainfall is bare, minimum i.e. 373.8 m.m to 615.9 m.m. Due to this, life of the people here is miserable. The taluk is home to a number of people belonging to scheduled caste and scheduled tribes. Besides there are also a number of economically backward people. To add to this woe the taluk is devoid of basic irrigational facilities. As a result every summer the labourers here are forced to migrate to the coffee estates of Chikkamagalur district and Bangalore in search of their daily bread
Until 1982 Jagalur did not have a degree college. The students had to travel upto 40-50 kms to the nearest towns for their education. Due to utter poverty many of the parents were unable to provide higher education to their children. When the taluk was in this predicament the government issued an order to start a degree college in 1982. The first degree college Sri H.C.Boraiah Memorial SC/ST First Grade College was started with just 15-20 students in a rented building. The credit of undertaking this noble task goes to 'Jagalur Taluk Nayakara Sangha (Regd)'. The college was named in the memory of Sri H.C.Boraiah, Ex-Transport Minister, Karnataka State. Sri Late Srinivasa Nayaka, Advocate and Sri S.B.Thippa Nayaka, retired teacher were the founder President and Secretary respectively. The institution was admitted to grant-in-aid in 1987. The college owns 7.2 acres of land and a new building was constructed in June 2000. The present premise has an excellent environment enriched with trees and plants. The college got 2(F) in 1988, permanent affiliation in 2005 and 12(B) in 2006.
The college has an extensive library measuring 192 sq.ms, consisting more than 14,500 books, various daily weekly newspapers and journals. The college has a vast playground, two NSS units with 200 students. The college has set up a computer lab consisting 36 computers and a network centre with 10 computers with a broadband internet connection. Wifi is provided in the building, students have the advantage of preparing for competitive examinations as there are a number of books related to the concerned topics. Entry into service cell (UGC sponsored) and career and counseling cell (UGC sponsored) conduct many training programmes for competitive exams. Remedial classes are also conducted for students who need extra coaching. Short term courses like basic computer skills, English for communication and kindergarten are also conducted by our institution.
At present there are 542 students in the college and more than 90% of the students belong to SC/ST and other backward classes. The institution has a service of experienced teachers with M.Phil and Ph.D degrees. Their contribution in securing good results for the institution is noteworthy. Many students who have been graduated from our college have completed the post graduation and other higher studies. We are proud of our students who are employed in various government and private sectors. Our students have contributed to the reputation and honor of college.