Chicola

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Chicola, Cuba, is a small private port on the north coast of Fallas. It was built in 1932 by the Fallas-Gutierrez sugar company to ship to the USA the sugar produced by the factories of Central Patria and Central Adelaida. The name came from the Spanish word (chico) which means "small" or "tight". The only access to Chicola was through 9 kilometers of railroad that ran on a heavily forested and swampy terrain. The sugar was carried in railroad wagons and then loaded on to flat-bottom boats to be taken over 25 miles of shallow sea (6 feet) to deep ocean, (key Guillermo), where it was transferred to big liners. It operated until 1968. In 1962 the Cuban coast guard installed a station with a 100 feet high watchtower, which was closed in 1975. Today it is an abandoned locality visited only by fishermen. The railways were salvaged for materials for cattle fence construction.