Paddle steamers came first to the St Lawrence in 1809 and to the Great Lakes in 1817 with the launch of the Frontenac and the Walk on Water. At the dawn of steam navigation, the lakes became major trade mutes for carrying grain, produce, iron ore, coal, and lumber from the interior of North America to manufacturing cities along the lake fronts and, via the St. Lawrence River, to the rest of the world, Resorts developed on the Georgian Bay islands and in northern Michigan, and lane paddle steamers plied from Buffalo, Kingston, Toronto, and other destinations, carrying urban folks to the Canadian and American summer retreats for a span of one hundred years.
When the pleasure steamers, many built before World War I, wore out, they weren't replaced as most vacationers had 'taken to their cars. By the nlM-1960s, Great Lakes cruising had largely disappeared.
The region has several of these wrecked and in diveable waters for all to see and share in this piece of Canada's marine histroy.
Kingstonunderwater is the personal property of Tom Rutledge and all pictures are by Tom Rutledge, occasionally Photos from Dan Mackay, James Pate, Anne Campbell, Barry Mutch, Kevin Ripley and Sean Felts may get posted as they would more then likely use my camera on a dive with me or have access to their own equipment in most of those cases I would be the subject as well.
Kingston Underwater supports the Great Lakes Underwater Explorer Club (GLUE) out of Northern Tech Diver - Divers that practice and preach wreck conservation like Save Ontario Shipwrecks.
