History of Tela

In 1930 floods ruined the banana industry, broke bridges and closed railroads, causing whole plantations to cease operations. Tela declined somewhat after this disaster, but gradually recovered.

Tela was the epicenter of the 1954 General Strike, which began as a wildcat action among the poorer workers, and soon spread through the north of Honduras, but the English speaking Caribbean workers, occupying higher positions in the company were lukewarm in their support or even openly hostile to the workers. In the aftermath of the strike, which led to major concessions to workers, the English speaking community was subject to retaliation and many left the region, often immigrating to the United States or Canada, or to the Caribbean countries from which they or their ancestors had originated.

The town's long dock burned in 1994. A hasty replacement, opened in January 1995, collapsed due to high winds, and the remnant is now used for fishing.

The town had an extensive rail yard in which trains were used to run all the way out to the dock. Passenger trains still run twice a week from Tela to Puerto Cortés, the only routes in the country still served by trains