Talk:Coculi

Cocoli

Cocoli was a town on the west side of the Panama Canal in the Pamama Canal Zone near Miraflores locks. Its location was atypical as most people lived in communities on the east side of the Canal Zone. Access was by bridge over the Canal.

History

It was built in the 1930's as housing for personnel constructing the never finished third locks. It susequently housed military personnel and then civilian employees. Most of the population were white U.S. citzens and black english speaking decendents of West Indians imported to construct the canal in 1903 to 1914. Spanish speaking Panamanians were not permitted to live in Cocoli. or in the Canal Zone.The white residents were on the "Gold" standard and the black employees were on the silver payroll. The Gold standard employes and the silver payroll employees shopped in different stores. This was enforced because each was issued different colored script, when they were paid, that was required to shop in the stores. The medical clinic and public restrooms and the schools were also segrigated. This segrigation was justified on the basis of citizenship but race was the subtext. This all ended when President Truman desegrigated the U.S. Armed Forces.

Cocoli consisted of residential housing for Panama Canal Company employees and their families. It had a clubhouse, commisary, medical clinic, churhes and an elementary school. The middle school, high school and hospital were in Balboa. The housing consisted of the typical Canal Zone two bedroom, two story, fourplexes elevated one story above ground. The town of Cocoli has mostly been razed. The remaining seventy year old wooden buildings are in disrepair and are surrounded by a chain link fence to prevent unauthorized habitation.