History of Isla Taboga

emetery
 A small cemetery sits atop Isla Morro. The cemetery became last resting place for some who followed the Cruces Trail en route to the partake in the Gold Rush. They had contracted deadly fevers, “importing” their fatal illnesses to Taboga. Later, canal workers who did not survive their convalescence on Taboga were also buried there. A trace of Anglo-Saxon names can still be seen on the cemetery's fallen tombstones. The tombs of French canal workers were identified with numbers.

The French Period (1880 -1904) Isla Taboga played an important role in France's visionary lead in constructing the Panama Canal. The Canal's French administration built a 50-bed sanatorium on Taboga, later known as Aspinwall, for ailing and convalescing workers who contracted yellow fever or malaria. Those who died were buried on Morro.

Paul Gauguin
 The celebrated Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin sailed to Panama in 1887. Virtually penniless, he worked as a Panama Canal laborer. During his time in Panama, the Frenchman stayed on Taboga and considered buying land there.

The American Period (1905 – 1960) For the first half of the 20th Century, Taboga served as a base for U.S. military trainings and holidays. Taking over construction of the Canal, the Americans, like the French before them, regarded Aspinwall as a recuperation center for canal workers. About a decade later, the sanatorium evolved into Hotel Aspinwall, a vacation resort for the workers and their families. In World War I, the hotel was converted into an internment camp for German prisoners. Following the war, the hotel became the hub of Taboga's social life until 1945. Aspinwall fell into ruin and is no traces of it