Today in History revisits the Friday, August 14, 1914 edition of the Grand Forks Herald and highlights a story on the first steamer passing through Panama Canal. The Panama Canal construction was completed in 1914, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and significantly shortening some shipping routes by allowing vessels to bypass South America.

Makes the Trip From Atlantic Ocean to Pacific in 11½ Hours.

Washington, Aug. 13, 1914 — The first steamship to pass through the Panama canal—the Cristobal—made the trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific in eleven and a half hours.

The return trip, however, was made in eight and a half hours, which probably marks the average time that will be consumed by merchantmen when all of the machinery of the canal is in smooth operation. The Cristobal

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