Crossing the River by Ferry

Crossing the River by Ferry. . , Native Americans and early French explorers traveled by canoe and used Irondequoit Bay as the entrance to Genesee Country. Since the river was the easiest way of shipping goods to the lake, Canandaigua merchants commissioned Oliver Culver (in 1803) to cut a road from "Tryon" (now Ellison Park) through Irondequoit and down to the mouth of the Genesee. , To cross the river, they built a simple rope ferry to get their goods to the west bank ships anchored at Charlotte. Murphy's ferry operated in the 1850's and 1860's. , The Yosemite started operation in 1876 and Commander Murry would recite passages from Shakespeare to his passengers. , The Windsor ferry started in 1894. The trip took seven minutes and cost 5¢. It traveled along a heavy chain anchored on each shore that dropped down to the river bottom when boats navigated the channel. Captain Andrews ran the ferry for thirty years without ever having an accident. , When the first automobile wanted to cross the river, it was difficult for the ferry captain to determine a fare to charge; he was more used to carrying cattle! , The Windsor at her dock at Ontario Beach Park. She was 75 feet long and 40 feet wide. , President Thomas Jefferson established the "Customs District of the Genesee" in 1805. Ideally situated on Ontario's south shore, Charlotte became a bustling commercial port where goods would come in and leave by boat. When the Erie Canal was completed in 1825, it took over as the primary means of east-west travel. , But Lake Ontario remained the preferred way to ship goods to Canada and Europe. The port continued to do a substantial business throughout the 1800's and ferryboats played an important role in getting both freight and passengers from one side of the river to the other.