Saturday, March 24, 2012

Canadian lake steamer 'Mountain Maid', 1863


The paddle steamer Mountain Maid, seen in the Québec part of Lake Memphremagog (the southern part of this 44-km or 27-mile lake lies within the US state of Vermont). A carriage with horses can be seen on the lower deck - thus a roll-on, roll-off ferry! Mountain Maid was built and launched in Georgeville in 1850. At 32 metres (105 ft), the steamer carried cargo and up to 250 passengers daily from Magog (at the north) to Newport (south), with stops at Georgeville, Owl’s Head Mountain House, Knowlton Landing, and other docks on the lake. 

Mountain Maid operated until 1870 when she was hauled out of the water and condemned, replaced with a much bigger steamer called Lady of the Lake. In 1878, however, Mountain Maid was salvaged and the  hull, paddle wheel, floor plan and engine were completely re-built. The new Mountain Maid, which looked significantly different from the original, operated until 1892.

This photo won an Amateur Photographic Association prize in 1863 described as "instantaneous".

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Is the photo the original Mountain Made or the 2nd one. I have the bill of sale for the original Mountain Maid