Panama Canal Zone

The Canal Zone was not a "territory" of the United States in the typical sense. From 1903-1936 the Panama Canal Zone was controlled by the U.S. government under the terms of the Hay-Bunau-Varilla treaty. The 1936 Hull-Alfaro Treaty, ratified by the US Senate in 1939, indicated the Canal Zone was the "territory of the Republic of Panama under the jurisdiction of the United States of America." From 1979-1999, after the Torrijos-Carter treaties were signed, it was jointly administered by the United States and Panama. Four United States federal censuses, as well as a special Canal Zone census were taken in the Panama Canal Zone. See Panama Canal Zone Census. For more in-depth research in Panama, see the Panama article.

Records

 * Panama Canal Zone Census
 * Panama Canal Zone Vital Records
 * Panama Canal Zone Other records

Related Content

 * Citizenship
 * Looking for an Ancestor in the Panama Canal Zone, 1904-1914 (NARA)
 * The Makers of the Panama Canal, 1911 (Biographies)