Ontario (steamboat)

Illustration of Ontario
History
Name	Ontario
Owner	Ontario Steamboat Company
Route	Ogdensburg–Lewiston
Builder	C. Smyth, D. Boyd, J. DeGraff, E. Lusher, and A. Van Santvoord, Sackets Harbor
Launched	1817
Maiden voyage	April 1817
Fate	Broken up, 1832
General characteristics
Class and type	Sidewheeler steamboat
Tonnage	240 tons
Installed power	21 hp
Propulsion	1× crosshead steam engine 2× 11 ft (3.4 m) paddle wheels Sails (two masts, schooner rig)
Speed	5 mph (8.0 km/h)

The Ontario was a steam driven sidewheeler steamboat, launched in 1817, and the first such craft to see active service on the Great Lakes, at Lake Ontario. Ontario departed Sackets Harbor, New York on its maiden voyage sometime in April 1817. Financed by the late Robert Fulton's estate, the Ontario was built with the hopes that it would fare well commercially, and prove efficient on the often windy and turbulent Great Lakes. Her time on the lake delivering people and goods proved a success, and helped to usher in a new era of maritime commerce.