Great Lakes passenger steamers

By 1900, fleets of relatively luxurious passenger steamers plied the waters of the lower lakes, especially the major industrial centres of Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Toronto.

The U.S.-built Ontario (110 feet, 34 m), launched in the spring of 1817 at Sacketts Harbor, New York, began its regular service in April 1817 before Frontenac made its first trip to the head of the lake on June 5.

Steamboats on the lakes grew in size and number, and additional decks were built on the superstructure to allow more capacity.

This inexpensive method of adding capacity was adapted from river steamboats and successfully applied to lake-going craft.

The Erie Canal opened in 1825, allowing settlers from New England and New York to reach Michigan by water through Albany and Buffalo.

[3][4] The screw propeller was introduced to the Great Lakes by Vandalia in 1842 and allowed the building of a new class of combination passenger and freight carrier.

A significant industry in leisure cruising arose beginning in the late 19th century, providing large passenger vessels for travel to summer resorts and hotels in the north woods, away from the polluted cities.

As a result, railroad-owned company fleets were sold to buyers with no ownership interest in railways because under the new law railroads had to divest themselves of their marine divisions on the lakes.

Under this divestiture law, Milwaukee Clipper, for instance, was sold by the Anchor Line along with four other railroad-owned company fleets to the newly formed Great Lakes Transit Corporation.

On Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, the ships of the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited have shuttled passengers since 1921.

An international ferry ran on Lake Ontario from Rochester, New York to Toronto from 2004 to 2005, but it was plagued with high operating costs and low demand.

The privately-owned company was taken over by the city administration of Rochester, and the ship was sold overseas where it operated across the Strait of Gibraltar.