Lecture by Walter Lewis: Great lakes Passenger Travel
Schedule
Sat, 23 May, 2026 at 01:00 pm
UTC-04:00Location
44 Harbour St., Port Dover, ON, Canada, Ontario N0A 1N0 | Port Dover, ON
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May 23 1pm $10For millennia, the inhabitants of the Great Lakes watershed travelled the region in canoes of various styles. European settlers brought a variety of sailing vessels. After the War of 1812 travel on the Lakes increased in volume, with waves of new immigrants, and in reliability, with the pioneering steamboats. New canals connected the Lakes, while lighthouses helped make nighttime navigation safer. As settlements matured, more vessels engaged in leisure trades: day trips, honeymoons to Niagara Falls, travel to island amusement parks, moonlight dancing, cruises, and even providing a “floating palace” during a Royal Tour. What was it like to arrive in Upper Canada in 1790? In 1834? To travel with the Prince of Wales? To cross the Lakes during Prohibition?
Walter Lewis is an award-winning maritime historian and frequent speaker, specializing in the history of Great Lakes region. A graduate of Queen's University and the University of Toronto, he has served on the editorial boards of both FreshWater and is the executive editor of The Northern Mariner. In 1990 he took up scuba diving as part of the research for The River Palace, co-authored with Rick Neilson of Kingston. His website, MaritimeHistoryOfTheGreatLakes.ca is recognized as one of the richest resources for those doing research in the history of the Lakes. He has presented to a wide range of audiences, from scholarly, to historical societies, to passengers on Great Lakes cruises.
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44 Harbour St., Port Dover, ON, Canada, Ontario N0A 1N0Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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