Steamboating on Lake Simcoe
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La navigation à vapeur sur le lac Simcoe

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 5, 2024

1. Steamboating on Lake Simcoe
(marker south side • English)

[English]  The “Sir John Colborne”, launched in 1832, was the first of many steamboats on Lake Simcoe. A link in the land-water transportation route connecting the upper and lower Great Lakes, steamboats opened lands around Lake Simcoe to settlement. They carried passengers, freight and mail to developing ports and catered to tourists and excursionists as the region prospered. Steam tugs were used by the lumber trade to tow log booms across the lake. By 1877, railways encircled the lake and thereafter monopolized freight and passenger traffic. Steamboats continued to run pleasure cruises until the popularity of private motorboats brought Lake Simcoe’s steam era to an end in the 1920s.

[Français]  Le « Sir John Colborne », lancé en 1832, est le premier des nombreux bâteaux à vapeur à naviguer sur le lac Simcoe. Ces bâteaux assurent le transport par voie d’eau entre les Grand Lacs supérieurs et inférieurs, et amènent des colons dans la région. Ils transportent des passagers, des marchandises et du courrier et, plus tard, des touristes et des excursionnistes. Des remorqueurs à vapeur halent des trains de bois d’une

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rive à l’autre. Dès 1877, le chemin de fer fait le tour du lac et finit par monopoliser le transport. Les bâteaux à vapeur offrent encore néanmoins des croisières jusqu’à ce que la bogue des petits bâteaux à moteur mette un terme, dans les années 1920 à l’ère de la navigation à vapeur sur le lac Simcoe.
 
Erected by Ontario Heritage Foundation / Fondation du patrimoine ontarien.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1832.
 
Location. 44° 22.566′ N, 79° 41.26′ W. Marker is in Barrie, Ontario, in Simcoe County. It can be reached from Lakeshore Drive just north of Tiffin Street, on the right when traveling north. The marker is located along the Waterfront Heritage Trail, on the north side of Tiffin Boat Launch Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 105 Lakeshore Drive, Barrie ON L4N 7R6, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 5, 2024

2. La navigation à vapeur sur le lac Simcoe
(marker north side • Français)

is in Central Ontario Cottage Country and specifically in Georgian Bay Country. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, on the Great Lakes, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Steamboat J.C. Morrison (here, next to this marker); Boats on the Bay (here, next to this marker); Kempenfelt Kelly (here, next to this marker); Allandale Railway Station (about 240 meters away, measured in a direct line); An Independent Village (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Train Town Kids (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Living in a Company Town (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Housing Shortages (approx. 0.3 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Barrie.

 

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 5, 2024

3. Steamboating on Lake Simcoe Marker

Looking north; Kempenfelt Bay (Lake Simcoe) is in the background.

 

 
Credits. This page was last revised on May 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 19, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 170 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on November 19, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.