See
Sleep
Stay safe
If you drive in the free zone take your passport and be sure to have your rental car paperwork. You may see some people at the gate trying to scam you out of money, do not pay them. Just go into the office and get your pass.
Colón or City of Colon is a sea port city on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. In 2000 it had a population of about 204,000 people. It bears similarity to Cartagena, Colombia
It is near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. The city is the capital of Panama's Colón Province.
History
The city was founded in 1850 as one end of the Panama Railroad then under construction. For a number of years early in its history, the sizable United States emigré community called the town Aspinwall while the Hispanic community called it "Colón". The name "Colón" is in honor of Christopher Columbus.
Much of the city was burned during a Colombian civil war in 1885, and again in an accidental fire in 1915.
In 1900 the population was some 3,000 people. It grew significantly with the building of the Panama Canal, and was 31,203 in 1920.
Economy, finance and trading
In 1948 Colón was made a Free Trade Zone.
Since the late 1960's, Colón has been in economic decline. Nowadays, the unemployment rate is around 40% and the poverty rate is even larger than that.
It was home to some of the most respectable, educated and well-heeled Panamanians families of West-Indian heritage, including the Moodys, the Beebys, the Archibolds, the Edwards, the Crowns, the Hoys, the Mckintoshs, and many more. From these familes sprang the teachers, professors, doctors, lawyers, engineers, business men, and politicians that goverened the City. Most of whom relocated to the USA or back to the UK, in later years. However, their influence can still be seen by the descendants that remain in the provinces.
Notable Colonenses include
External link
--------
