An album of photographs taken during the construction of the Panama Canal. Subjects of the photographs include the earliest digging, tree removal, mosquito control, locks, equipment, Wood's family, a fire in Colon that occurred during the building of the Canal, and the first boats to use the Canal. Photographs include images of the Gatun Dam and locks, and the Atlantic side of the Isthmus.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
Wood was an electrical engineer who learned his trade entirely on the job. He had worked on railway electrification prior to his work on the Panama Canal.
Provenance:
Donated to the Museum's Division of Engineering and Industry (now called the Division of Work and Industry) in 1987 by Wood's son Charles E. Wood Jr.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Message from the President of the United States, transmitting the report of the Special Commission appointed to investigate conditions of labor and housing of government employees of the Isthmus of Panama
Author:
United States Special Commission on Conditions of Labor and Housing on Isthmus of Panama Search this
82 photographs glued to pages in a scrapbook documenting the building of the Panama Canal. Subjects of the photographs include the workers, the worksite, equipment (steamshovels, trains, tools), the camp, building interiors and exteriors, and the local terrain. Locations include: Cucaracha; Culebra Cut; Cunette; Village of Tabernilla, C.Z.; Hodges Hill; Empire West and East Banks; Gold Hill; Contractor=s Hill; and Corozal.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
John Frances Little inherited this scrapbook from his uncle, who worked on the Canal and presumably took the pictures and compiled the scrapbook. (The 20 some smaller photographs in the back of the envelope are apparently his personal snapshots -- it is unclear whether he took the others.) His name is unknown.
