PEDRO MIGUEL
Pedro Miguel: and Miraflores date from French Canal times, and bear respectively the names Saint Peter Michael, and Miraflores, a distinguished Spanish soldier. At Pedro Miguel the French had two dredges in operation, and there they had made emplacements for their locks. Under the American plan, it is the site of the first flight of locks that will lower ships from the level of Gatun Lake to that of the Pacific. Here is an engine house where as many as eighty locomotives tie up for the night. One of the most interesting sights on the canal is watching these locomotives leave the engine house for their work in the morning. The first one leaves about 6.30 o'clock, and the last is clear of the yards ten minutes later. Pedro Miguel had 1,623 population in 1908.
At Miraflores also the French had a small settlement, and this has been continued by the Americans, largely as a labor camp. Here are being constructed two of the locks required in completing the descent to the level of the Pacific, begun at Pedro Miguel. These locks will be the last finished and they are therefore the most interesting sight on the Canal work, because more kinds of work are in progress here than elsewhere.
From: "The Panama Guide" by John O. Collins, 1912, I.C.C. Press, Quartermaster's Department, Mount Hope, C.Z.
Peter Magill: it has been for many years. It is even spelled "Peter Magill" in some official records.
History: Pedro Miguel and Miraflores date from French Canal times, and bear respectively the names Saint Peter Michael, and Miraflores, a distinguished Spanish soldier.
Origin: The origin of Pedro Miguel's name is a matter of argument among its residents. Adrien Bouche, who has lived there for many years, grew up on the story that Pedro Miguel was the name of a railroad section foreman.
