Colon, Panama.koh LOHN(2000 pop. 204,208), is the second largest city in Panama, at the Caribbean end of the Panama Canal. Colon was surrounded by, but not part of, the former Panama Canal Zone. Colon is an important port, commercial center, and tourist destination. It was made a free trade zone in 1953 and is the world’s second largest duty-free port. The city was founded in 1850 by Americans working on the Panama railroad and was named Aspinwall after one of the builders of the railway until 1890. Colon is the Spanish form of Columbus; the name of the neighboring port of Cristobal is Spanish for Christopher. After completion of the railway in 1855, Colon overshadowed the older Caribbean ports of Panama, and with the first plans for the isthmian canal it took on additional prestige. Built on a swampy island, the city was notoriously unhealthful and often scourged by yellow fever until Colonel William C. Gorgas, in charge of sanitation during the canal construction, gave it a new system of waterworks and sewerage and drained the surrounding swamps. Three modern ports make Colon one of the most important ports of the Caribbean Sea. It is connected to Panama City by Road, Rail, Air and of course the Panama Canal!