The Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Company of Baltimore, Maryland was incorporated in May 1920. Its primary mission was to transport goods and produce across the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

, across the Pacifc

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 and coast to coast via the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

. It was started by Baltimore natives W. Bernard Duke, President, Currall A. Askew, Vice President, and William B. W. Mann, Secretary and Treasurer. Duke had been President of the Seaboard Bank of Baltimore; Askew was previously General Manager of States Marine Company and Steamship Manager for Thomas Cook and Sons; Mann was formerly of Mann Shipbuilding Company.

Approximately $2Million in capital was raised to begin the venture. With that amount six ships were purchased from the United States Shipping Board

United States Shipping Board

The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....

. The ships included the Charles H. Cramp, the Liberator, the H. S. Grove, the Cape Romain, the Cape Henry and the West Haven. They ranged in size from 7,400 dead weight tons to 11,700 and totaled 55,000 tons.

In 1921 they became the first company to transport citrus fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

 between coasts via ship and the Panama Canal. The ship Charles H. Cramp brought that first shipment of fruit. The advantage touted by the shipping company was lower cost for the transport versus rail as well as less spoilage. To celebrate this milestone - a luncheon was held at the Reunart Hotel in Baltimore February 5, 1921 with O. E. Goodman of the California Fruit Growers Exchange and S. W. Collins of the U. S. Department of Agriculture

United States Department of Agriculture

The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...

attending as guests of honor. Collins had arranged the test shipment and made the voyage. Baltimore's Mayor Broening also attended.