History of Puerto Cortez

(Ferrocarril Interoceánico) in 1850, a product of the demand for transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific occasioned by the US Gold Rush, took shape in 1853 when work commenced to anchor the railroad at Puerto Cortés. The rail line went slowly with many problems. In 1876 President Marco Aurelio Soto nationalized the Trans-Oceanic Railroad, which only reached to San Pedro Sula. In any case, once the Panama Canal was completed in 1903, the larger plan of crossing Central American was abandoned. While the projected cross-American link did not happen, the railroad opened up extensive lands that were ideally suited for the growing of tropical fruit, especially bananas, in the hinterland of Puerto Cortés. As a result, the region became an early center for banana growing and export, and the port was one of the leading ports for the export of bananas as well, as the production of that fruit took off in the early twentieth century.

The early banana export industry came to be dominated by foreigners; among the first foreigners to obtain a government concession was William Frederick Streich of Philadelphia in 1902. His concession was in the vicinity of Omoa and both banks of the Cuyamel River. However, in 1910 Samuel Zemurray's Cuyamel Fruit Company purchased these 5,000 acres, but soon branched out, both with more land and with political and tax concessions, especially after Zemurray installed Manuel Bonilla in office as president using mercenaries hired in the area and abroad. In addition to awarding Cuyamel additional land, Bonilla also waived the company's tax obligations. Cuyamel had built port facilities at Omoa, but also began using the facilities at Puerto Cortés and soon came to