History of Gatun

Rush of 1849 brought about dramatic changes to the isthmus of Panama, particularly to Gatún. All over Panama, rates for meals and lodging shot up overnight, fueled by increased demand and gold fever. Travelers going upriver on the Chagres stopped through Gatún, paying $2 a night for a hammock before proceeding on the often dangerous barge trip and overland mule ride to Panama City, from where they sailed on to San Francisco.

To meet the demand of travelers rushing to California, a group of New York financiers formed the Panama Railroad Company and set about to construct the first railroad connecting the Atlantic and Pacific. When work began in 1850, ships carried machinery, provisions and workers up the Chagres as far as Gatún. From there, they worked their way back up through the swamp toward the railroad’s Atlantic terminus on Manzanillo Island (now Colón). The first stretch of rail from Manzanillo Island to Gatun was completed in 1851. Construction was completed in 1854 and the first train completed the journey from coast to coast in January 1855, passing by Gatún. After 1869, with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States, traffic on the Panama Railroad decreased and the town’s main role was as a river trading post for bananas and other crops grown inland and brought by barge to be transported to larger markets by rail.

As with the first gold rush-driven boom, Gatún’s next boom came about rapidly though not unexpectedly.

In 1881, the Compagnie universelle du canal interocéanic de Panama, led by Count Ferdinand de Lesseps, acquired the rights from Colombia to build a Canal through the isthmus of Panama. This effort included the purchase of the majority stake of the Panama Railroad. The French shipped in pre-fabricated buildings, many of which were brought to Gatún. French warehouses, quarters and machine shops went up in Gatún and along the railroad line, and the