|
By August 15, 1914 the Panama
Canal was officially opened by the passing of the SS Ancon. At the time,
no single effort in American history had exacted such a price in dollars
or in human life. The American expenditures from 1904 to 1914 totaled
$352,000,000, far more than the cost of anything built by the United
States Government up to that time. Together the French and American
expenditures totaled $639,000,000. It took 34 years from the initial
effort in 1880 to actually open the Canal in 1914. It is estimated that
over 80,000 persons took part in the construction and that over 30,000
lives were lost in both French and American efforts. This
website is dedicated to all men and women who have and will work at or for
the Panama Canal and made the heroic dream of over 400 years come true.
Honoring the past by building the future.
|
