Historic Events
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110 years ago this month…
S.S. Ancon during the official opening transit of the Panama Canal, August 15, 1914. Gift of Brad Wilde. II.2021.36.106 One hundred and ten years ago this month, the Panama Canal officially opened. On Saturday, August 15, 1914, the S.S. Ancon left Cristobal dock No. 9, and approximately nine hours and 40 minutes later, it arrived five miles out into the Bay at Panama, at the end of the dredged channel. On board were around 200 people including politicians, military officials, and high ranking affiliates of the Panama Canal.
Opening of the Panama Canal, S.S. Ancon passing Cucaracha slide. Looking north. August 15, 1914. Gift of Glenn W. Brandl. 2003.100.44.7. The August 15th, 1914 transit of the S.S. Ancon is the celebrated event, but there were other test voyages and “firsts” that occurred in the weeks and months prior, most notably the the August 3rd, 1914 trip of the S.S. Cristobal. Although it technically (and purposefully) did not sail the full length of the Canal so that the Ancon could claim that prize, Chief Engineer George Goethals wanted a ship to complete a trial run before the eyes of the world were on the Canal and the workforce that had labored for ten years to design and dig this new modern marvel.
A description of the test trip is included in the August 5th issue of the Canal Record.
John O. Collins shared his alternative theory of the August 3rd transit in the Society of the Chagres 1914 Yearbook, speculating that this “test voyage” was to give the individuals who had actually worked on the Canal the opportunity to experience it instead of outside dignitaries and press.
The Society of the Chagres was a organization created to “keep alive the pleasant associations and memories connected with the work in which they have each spent six or more years of their lives…who have earned the Roosevelt Canal Medal and two bars prior to the official opening of the Canal.” Their yearbooks are a great place to learn about some of the Americans from the construction era.
Move through this slideshow of images of the Cristobal‘s trip with the left and right arrows.
S.S. Cristobal in the 1st Chamber, Gatun Locks, August 3, 1914. Gift of Mickey Fitzgerald. II.2024.3.2016 
Goethals looking on as the ship is raised through Gatun Locks. August 3, 1914. Gift of Mickey Fitzgerald. II.2024.3.217. 
S.S. Cristobal crossing line of old French canal on way to Gatun. August 3, 1914. Gift of Mickey Fitzgerald. II.2024.3.118. 
S.S. Cristobal on Gatun Lake at dump #6 (near Mamei), on trip through canal. August 3, 1914. Gift of Karen Nadeau Price. 2012.115.85. 
S.S. Cristobal going through Gatun Locks, August 3, 1914. Gift of Mickey Fitzgerald. II.2024.3.240. 
S.S. Cristobal, Gatun Locks. August 3, 1914. Gift of Mickey Fitzgerald. II.2024.3.238. 
S.S Cristobal in Culebra Cut, Return trip from 1st passage through Panama Canal, August 4, 1914. Collection of Curtis H. Bliss. Gift of Mickey Fitzgerald. II.2024.3.182.
Did you know that there is debate about whether the August 3rd or the August 15th trip carried the 50,000 medals struck to commemorate the completion of the Panama Canal? Although the official opening was the 15th, they are often referred to as the “Cristobal Medal”.
This medal was a gift of Sara Collinge Ulrich, 2002.23.3.
But what about those other “firsts”…
The S.S. Alliance was the first ocean going vessel to make lockage at the Panama Canal. It happened at Gatun Locks on June 8, 1914.
S.S. Alliance in Gatun Lake, June 8, 1914. Gift of Brad Wilde. II.2021.36.106 The Santa Clara tested the lockage through Miraflores and Pedro Miguel later in June, 1914.
The Santa Clara during Northbound First Pacific Lockage, June 18, 1914. Gift of Brad Wilde. II.2021.36.106. 
An account in the Isthmian Historical Society Roosevelt Medal Holders’ Tape Recorder Guest Book references another first. It is unclear if Adrien M. Bouche is conflating two “firsts” or if he was mistaken about the year, but he recounts a unique experience he had watching one of these important events with Goethals himself. At the age of fifteen or sixteen Bouche watched the first lockage of Gatun Locks, a trip made by the tugboat Gatun on September 26, 1913.
Isthmian Historical Society. Roosevelt Medal Holders’ Tape Recorder Guest Book: The Word-for-Word Reminiscences of 35 Oldtimers Who Helped to Dig the Panama Canal. Recorded on Tape November 17, 1958.
Excerpt from the writing of Adrien M. Bouche. Isthmian Historical Society. Roosevelt Medal Holders’ Tape Recorder Guest Book: The Word-for-Word Reminiscences of 35 Oldtimers Who Helped to Dig the Panama Canal. Recorded on Tape November 17, 1958. 
Operation of Gatun Locks. First boat through Tug “Gatun” entering lower lock. September 26, 1913. II.2019.999.554
Do you have any stories about these Panama Canal “firsts”?
If you want to learn more about these and other early “firsts” at the Canal enjoy this series of articles that Bob Karrer, Bill Fall, and Tag Stewart wrote for the Isthmian Collectors Club (ICC) Journal’s in 2011 called “The First Transits”. You can read the articles here or download a copy below.
