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COLON (formerly known as ASPINWALL) , a city of the Republic ofSee also: Panama, on the See also: Atlantic See also: coast, in the See also: Bay of See also: Limon, and 47 M. by See also: rail N.W. of the city of Panama
.
Pop
.
(1908) about 3000, consisting largely of See also: Jamaica negroes and natives of mixed See also: Spanish, See also: Indian and See also: African descent
.
It is served by the Panama railway, which crosses the See also: Isthmus of Panama from ocean to ocean
.
Colon has a deep, though poorly sheltered harbour, and is either the See also: terminus or a place of See also: call for seven lines of steamships
.
It thus serves as an entrep6t for much of the commerce between Atlantic and Pacific ports, and between the interior towns of Central and See also: South See also: America and the cities of See also: Europe and the See also: United States
.
The city lies on the west See also: side of the low See also: island of See also: Manzanillo, is bordered on the landward sides by swamp, and consists mainly of unimposing See also: frame houses and small shops
.
The most attractive parts are the See also: American quarter, where the employes of the Panama railway have their homes, and the old French quarter, where dwelt the French See also: officers during their efforts to build the canal
.
In this last See also: district, near the mouth of the old canal, stands a See also: fine statue of Christopher See also: Columbus, the gift of the empress See also: Eugenie in 1870
.
Here also stands the mansion erected and occupied by See also: Ferdinand de
See also: Lesseps during his residence on the isthmus
.
With the exception of railway shops, there are no important See also: industrial establishments
.
Colon See also: dates its origin from the See also: year 1850, when the island of Manzanillo was selected as the Atlantic terminus of the Panama railway
.
The See also: settlement was at first called Aspinwall, in honour of See also: William H
.
Aspinwall (1807-1875), one of the builders of the railway; but some years afterwards its name was changed by legislative enactment to Colon, in honour of Christopher Columbus, who entered Limon Bay in 1502
.
The
See also: original name, however, survived among the See also: English-speaking inhabitants for many years after this change
.
With the completion of the railway in 1855, the See also: town supplanted See also: Chagres (q.v.) as the See also: principal Atlantic See also: port of the isthmus
.
Later it acquired increased importance through its selection by de Lesseps as the site for the Atlantic entrance to his canal
.
During the revolution of 1885 it was partly burned and was rebuilt on a somewhat larger See also: plan
.
As the city has always been notoriously unhealthful, the United States, on undertaking the construction of the Panama Canal (q.v.), became interested in preventing its becoming a centre of infection for the Canal Zone, and by the treaty of See also: November 1903 secured See also: complete jurisdiction in the city and harbour over all matters See also: relating to sanitation and quarantine, and engaged to construct a See also: system of waterworks and sewers in the See also: municipality, which had been practically completed in 1907
.
The United States See also: government has also opened a port at Cristobal, within the Canal Zone
.
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