Colón, Panama Totally Explained

Everything about Col N Panama totally explained

Colón is a sea port city on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. It is near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. The city is the capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city. Colón was traditionally located entirely on Manzanillo Island, surrounded by Limon Bay, Manzanillo Bay and Folks River. Since the abolition of the Canal Zone, the city's limits have been redefined to include the former Canal Zone towns of Cristobal, Rainbow City, Margarita and Coco Solo, as well as the former US military base of Fort Gulick. Colon is the registered birth place of U.S. Senator John McCain.

History

The city was founded by American entrepreneurs in 1850 as the Atlantic terminus of the Panama Railroad, then under construction to meet the gold rush demand for a fast route to California. For a number of years early in its history, the sizable United States emigré community called the town Aspinwall while the Hispanic community called it "Colón". The name "Colón" is in honor of Christopher Columbus. The city was founded on the western end of a treacherously marshy islet known as Manzanillo Island. As part of the Panama Railroad's construction, the island was connected to the Panamanian mainland by a causeway and part of the island was drained to allow the erection of permanent buildings.
   Much of the city was burned during a Colombian civil war in 1885, and again in a massive fire in 1915.
   In 1948, the southeastern corner of Manzanillo Island was made a Free Trade Zone. The Free Trade Zone has since been expanded through land reclamation on the Folks River and annexation of parts of France Field and Coco Solo.
   During its heyday, Colón was home to dozens of night clubs, cabarets and movie theaters. It was known for its citizens' civic pride, orderly appearance and outstanding native sons and daughters. Politically-instigated riots in the 1960s destroyed the city's beautiful municipal palace and signaled the start of the city's decline, which was further accelerated by Panama's military dictatorship of 1968-1989.
   Since the late 1960s, Colón has been in serious economic and social decline. Nowadays, the unemployment rate is around 40% and the poverty rate is even larger than that. Drug addiction and poverty have contributed to crime and violence issues which successive Panamanian governments have neglected to address effectively.

Population

In 1900 the population was some 3,000 people. It grew significantly with the building of the Panama Canal, and was 31,203 in 1920. In 2000 it had a population of about 204,000 people.
   With the city's economic decline, much of the city's elite and middle class left the city, reducing its former diversity and orderliness. Formerly vibrant European and American expatriate communities, as well as Panamanians of Greek, Italian, Jewish, Chinese and South Asian heritage, abandoned the city, moving to Panama City, former Canal Zone towns and overseas.
   Today, sizable South Asian and Arab communities live in the remaining prosperous areas of the city as well as in gated communities outside the city. The majority of the city's population are of West Indian and mestizo/hispanic ancestry.
   Colón was home to some of the most respectable, educated and well-heeled Panamanians families of West-Indian heritage, including the Moodys, the Beebys, the Archibolds, the Edwards, the Crowns, the Hoys, the Warehams, the Abrahams, the Mckintoshs, and many more. From these familes sprang the teachers, professors, doctors, lawyers, engineers, business men, and politicians that contributed to the city's prosperity. Most of them eventually left the city for the USA or the UK. However, their influence can still be seen by the descendants that remain in the province. Notable Colonenses include

George Westerman, publisher and editor
Alberto Motta (1916-2006), Panamanian businessman and philanthropist
Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Holdings, S.A.
Al Sprague, painter
Fernando A. Edwards, II, scholar and attorney in the United States
Victor Mckintosh, prominent engineer in the United States
Eric Jackson, publisher, journalist and talk show host

Rod Carew, major league baseball player

Mario Campo, olympic track star, major league softball player (MVP 1987,'88,'92,'99)

Ismael Laguna, boxer, World featherweight champion in 1965 and 1970.

Irving Saladino, athlete, long jump current world champion

Kenneth B. Clark,psychologist,educator, his research, was crucial to the desegregation of the public schools in the United States of America, case know as Brown vs. Board of Education

Benjamin Oglivie, major league baseball player, Panama's home run King (41HR in 1980)

Humberto V. Robinson, first Panamanian and first Central American in major league baseball

Camilo A. Alleyne, gynecologist. In 1990 performed the first successful In Vitro fertilization of Panama, Central America and the Caribbean.Further Information

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