Puerto Plata in the final years of the 1800s and beginning of the 1900s was the country's leading port due to its location on the Atlantic shipping route from Europe to the United States. The construction of its railroad station, assembled from parts imported from Germany at the end of the 18th century, consolidated this position, making Puerto Plata the most frequented transshipment point for incoming and outgoing merchandise, especially imports headed for the equally prosperous Cibao region.