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Canada at the Time of the
P.S. Lady Sherbrooke
When John Molson decided in 1816 that it was time to construct a fourth steamboat for his growing shipping company he set in motion the future of the ship called the P.S. Lady Sherbrooke. Encouraged by the success that his other ships had experienced Molson envisioned a need for a new approach to travel in this new land. He was willing to risk the large sum of money required to construct the Lady Sherbrooke and to outfit her with a steam engine.
Montréal in the nineteenth century was a thriving port and served as the gateway to the British possessions in North America. The area in and around the city was home to shipbuilders, such as Isaac Johnson, who carefully crafted ships of various sizes. Remembering that, at that time, water was the major transportation highway the story of the importance of vessels such as the Lady Sherbrooke which was identified at the time as "exceeding any vessel of the kind that has yet been seen on the waters of the St. Lawrence" begins to unfold.
In order to place the Lady Sherbrooke within the context of nineteenth century Montréal the team of researchers who have examined the history of the Lady Sherbrooke have considered questions such as:
who were the Lady Sherbrooke's passengers? in addition to passengers what else was shipped on this vessel? Was there any interesting cargo transported in the hold of the Lady Sherbrooke? what special events took place on the boat? what was it like to take the trip from Quebec City to Montreal? How has the concept of travel in Canada changed from the nineteenth to twentieth century? what was the overall importance of the Lady Sherbrooke in terms of Canadian history? As you explore the depths of this site ask yourself these same questions.
