The development of the commercial port made Ericeira a fundamental pole of the region's economy. Reports dating from 1834 noted the shipwrecks of 175 boats transporting products to the village, principally cereals (which were then distributed into the interior) while exports, especially wines and spirits, were sent to the Algarve, the islands and other locations. The customshouse in Ericeira supported an area extending from Cascais to Figueira da Foz, and the port was the fourth most important in the country, after Lisbon, Porto and Setúbal. With the construction of the western railway and the development of land transport, the port of Ericeira lost much of its importance. At the end of the 19th century, several warehouses and supply shops for sardine fishers were built, employing 500 men but altering the old fishing characteristics of the site. Ericeira's golden age of prosperity during the 19th century, when the port was the busiest in Estremadura.