USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 38
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Boston
do
do
Burlington
Wilcox
.30
.1810
Saucy Fox
do
do
Essex
Eggleston
.50
1810
Gold Hunter
.E. Boynton.
Whitehall
Young.
50
1811
President.
J. Boynton do
do
do
75.
1812
Morning Star
S. Boardman
Whitehall
do
50
1812
Jacob Bunker
Haswell & Chittenden
Burlington
Bay
65.
1812
Richard
Gideon King
Essex
Eggleston
.60
1812
Leopard.
J. Boynton.
do
do
.. 50.
1813
Boxer
Gideon King
do
do
.60.
.1813
Paragon.
do do
Burlington.
do
75.
.1814
40
.1802
Independence.
S. Boardman.
do
35
1805
Burlington
Wilcox
40
1807
Hunter.
.50
75.
.1812
Fair Trader
Essex
Eggleston
Juno
do
do
The prosecution of commercial enterprise was now interrupted by the War of 1812, and the energies of the people were engrossed by the numerous proj- ects for the invasion of the enemy's country, and for the expulsion from the lake of the enemy's fleets. At the close of the war business with Canada was to some extent resumed, but the bitter feeling which that strife engendered did not wear away ; moreover, an intimate business acquaintance had been formed between the merchants on the lake, and those of Troy, Albany, and other cities to the south. In addition to the trade kept up for the necessity of the inhabit- ants during the war, Admiral King had been abundantly employed in trans- porting troops, provisions and stores for the government. He had formed busi- ness connections at Whitehall, and even established a house there to attend to the transhipment of goods from the south to the lake, and vice versa. Rich- ard P. Hart, of Troy, kept on the road between Whitehall and Troy a train of horses and wagons, which provided all the means of transportation, public and private, and of goods and passengers. The sloops of King completed the car- riage from Whitehall to the destination of the traveler or freight.
This slow and cumbrous method of traffic was carried on but about ten years after the close of the war. De Witt Clinton had projected the plan of uniting the waters of all the inland lakes with the waters of the Atlantic. In October, 1817, Ezra Smith and M. Wheeler began the construction of the Champlain Canal, and on the same day that witnessed the opening of the Erie Canal, a direct communication was made between Hudson River and Lake Champlain, and canal boats were substituted in the place of wagon trains. The first canal boat to pass through the canal to tide water at Troy was the Gleaner, owned by Julius Hoyt, N. W. Kingman and John Taylor. The following graphic de- scription of the voyage comes from the pen of Mr. Canfield :
312
HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
" It was built in the summer of 1823, sailed in September of that year - Captain William Burton, master, having on board a cargo of wheat and potash. Messrs. Hoyt & Kingman accompanied him as passengers. The boat arrived at Waterford before the locks into the Hudson were completed, and was detained there several days, during which time many of the merchants and citizens of Troy called upon Messrs. Hoyt & Kingman on board their little vessel. On the completion of the locks the Gleaner passed into the river and proceeded to Troy, accompanied by a long procession of boats gaily decked with flags and streamers. On arriving at Troy she was received with the cheers of a large concourse of people, and a salute of artillery. Messrs. Hoyt & Kingman were escorted by a procession with music to the Troy House, then kept by Platt Titus, esq., where they were honored by a public dinner, closed by toasts, speeches, etc. The boat, with the same passengers, passed on to New York, and was saluted at Albany, Hudson, Poughkeepsie, and at most of the large places on the way. At New York they were honored in much the same way as at Troy, except that it was upon a much larger scale. The papers of that day were full of the subject, and the advent of the little craft even excited one of the great poets of New York to come out in a song in which the Gleaner was. alluded to as the 'Barque of the Mountains.'"
Up to this tinie Canada had received the benefit of an enormous and almost exclusive trade with the inhabitants of the Champlain valley, especially in lum- ber. The discovery of iron ore at various points on the west side of the lake gave an added impulse to trade of every description, and the current flowed in the direction of Canada. The opening of the Champlain Canal effected a rev- olution in the carrying trade, and marked the beginning of an era of decline in the commerce between Canada and the States.
Ezra Smith a resident of Chittenden county, and collector of the district of Champlain under President Taylor, was established in the forwarding business at Whitehall from 1816 to 1825, and was the first contractor on the Champlain Canal. From 1822 to 1831 Asa Eddy, from Sandy Hill, was engaged in canal transportation, and established the first line of boats on the canal. He was succeeded by Peter Comstock, who had been engaged more or less in raft- ing lumber through the canal ever since it was opened. He had also owned several boats before purchasing from Eddy, and after the purchase he entered into a copartnership with Barney & Martin, of Whitehall. This was the be- ginning of the Northern Transportation Line, which went into the hands of James H. Hooker in 1840, and at his death was incorporated into a stock company bearing the same name. Another line, called the Northern Line, started in 1834 by Asa and Hiram Eddy, was purchased in 1837 by Eddy, Basconi & Co., and in 1842 it passed into the hands of Travis, Eddy & Co., who established the " six days line," so named from the fact that the boats did not run on Sundays. In 1856 the Northern Transportation Line Association was formed, incorporating the Northern and the Northern Transportation Lines
313
LAKE COMMERCE AND THE LUMBER TRADE.
into one general association, which continued until the close of navigation in 1877, when it was succeeded by the New York and Lake Champlain Transpor- tation Company.
From the opening of the canal until about 1845, considerable damage to goods resulted from the fact that there was either no continuous line from ports on the lake to Troy or destinations farther south, or that the transhipments at Whitehall from vessels to canal boats, or vice versa, and further transhipments at Troy, was necessarily attended with delay. Besides, the delay itself was very annoying. The inconvenience was remedied in 1845 by the introduction of the Long-Boat Lines, which ran the passengers and cargoes through to New York without a change of vehicle. The navigation by sail on the lake, which had at this period reached the meridian of its prosperity, began to decline, as the long boats assumed the cargoes at ports on the lake and carried them through without transhipment. Then, too, began the period of decay of the famous sloops and schooners, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Montgomery, Her- cules, Billow, General Scott, Lafayette, Water Witch, and others, commanded by Captains Price, Allen, Chamberlain, Tisdale, Bush, Stoughton and others.
In 1841 Follett & Bradley, of Burlington, established the Merchants' Line, which was composed of well-built canal-boats constructed like sloops, rigged with a mast and sail which could be taken out at Whitehall, after a voyage on the lake, when the boat could proceed to Troy on the canal, and thence reach New York by steam tow boats on the Hudson.
Lucius A. Johnson, of Burlington, was the first general agent of the com- pany in New York. He was a man of great energy and unquestioned relia- bility, and established and maintained the high reputation of the company until his death in August, 1850. Thomas H. Canfield, of Burlington, who subsequently controlled the line, was his successor.
Upon the retirement of Judge Follett, in the spring of 1847, to assume the presidency of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad, this line was continued by Bradley & Canfield, of Burlington, and Nichols, Burton & Chittenden, of St. Albans, and later by Thomas H. Canfield, of Burlington. There were some- times as many as forty boats engaged in this line, but in 1853, when the rail- roads were opened, the channel of trade was diverted from a line north and south on the lake to a line direct from Vermont to Boston, and the lake com- merce was of necessity nearly destroyed .. Meanwhile the firm of Smith & Wilkins, of Burlington, had established the "New York and Canada Line," which did a good business until the railroads were opened, when it was discon- tinued. The freighting and towing business was then principally transacted by the Whitehall Transportation Company and the Northern Transportation Line. These companies were succeeded by the New York and Lake Champlain Transportation Company, which was chartered in 1878. L. J. N. Stark, of New York, was the president, and under his judicious management it has grown to be a leading and reliable company.
314
HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
In 1883 the Northern Boatman Transportation Company was organized for the purpose of competition, by offering lower rates for freight; but two years later it was compelled to relinquish the attempt. The following is a list of vessels which hailed from or were owned by citizens of Burlington, or Chitten- den county, from 1827 to 1835 inclusive :
Names.
Year
Where Built.
Length.
Width.
Tonnage.
Owners.
Master.
Napoleon.
1827 Georgia
73
25
6
90 R. A. Hurlbard & P. Comstock R. A. Hurlbard.
Hercules
1828 Burlington
69
25
6
85 T. Follett & J. Price
John Price.
La Fayette.
1834 Burlington
76
25
6
92 |C. P. Allen.
Samuel Dresden.
Wellington
1836 Whitehall
78
14
4
37 John McNall.
John McNall.
Julia
1836 Whitehall
76
14
4
39 J. Clark & S. Boardman.
J. W. Hall.
Daniel Webster.
1837 Burlington
86 26
6
115 T. Follett & H. & J. Bradley .. 50 Otis Smith.
I. A. Smith.
Hudson
1837 Essex, N. Y
77
13
4 38 J. Hudson & C. Derr.
J. Hudson.
Hiram
1839 Burlington
79
14
4
28 H. S. & E. White.
H. S. White.
John Tyler.
1839 Burlington
78
14
4
42 O. A. Burton.
B. B. Farnham.
Elisabeth
1839 Milton
78
13
4 40 L. Peters & E. Taylor.
L. Peters.
R. M. Johnson
1841 Burlington
79
14
5
48 Follett & Bradley
H. D. Edwards.
Amazon
1842
Willsboro, N. Y
80
14
4
40 A. B. Hoffnagle ..
A. B. Hoffnagle.
Eagle
1843 Burlington
77
13
5
49 Follett & Bradley
F. Barker.
E. Kingsland
1844 Essex, N. Y
78
13
1
35 Henry Chiott.
Henry Chiott, jr.
Empire
1844 Burlington
78
13
5 51 |Follett & Bradley
H. D. Clark.
J. D. Kingsland.
1844 Essex, N. Y
78
13
5
49 Follett & Bradley
W. H. Beaman.
S. Barker
1845 Vergennes
79
13
4
43 Stannard & Carpenter
J. T. Rhodes.
M. Bradley
1846 Burlington
78
13
5
48 Follett & Bradley
B. B. Farnham.
Oregon
1848 Essex, N. Y
78 13
5 48 J. Bradley & T. H. Canfield 50 D. Fay.
H. J. Bishop.
D. R. Ferris
1845 Milton
79
14
4 46; J. Clark & A. & A. Snow
Albert Snow.
L. A. Johnson
1847 Milton
76
13
4 41 A. A. & L. S. Smith
A. A. Smith.
E. K. Bussing ..
1847 Peru, N. Y.
78
13
47 J. Bradley & T. H. Canfield
E. Anson.
J. S. Bussing.
1847 Peru, N. Y.
78
13
45 J. Bradley & T. H. Canfield ..
E. A. Martin.
Columbia
1847 Ticonderoga, N. Y. 77 14
5
52| J. M. Bishop.
D. E. McEachren.
John Bradley
1847 Burlington
78
14
5
45 J. Bradley
W. W. Wright.
Commodore
1847 Milton
77
13
5
49 Otis Snow
Otis Snow.
P. T. Davis.
1847 |Essex, N. Y.
77
13
5
38|J. Bradley & T. H. Canfield.
H. J. Hinckley.
J. W. Brown
1848 Isle La Motte.
75
14
1
43 W. Bush & J. N. Brown ..
William Bush.
Billow
1848 Whitehall
87
20
5
74|John Tobias ..
John Tobias.
H. W. Catlin.
1848 Burlington
Joseph Clark
1848 Colchester
21
6 92 J. McNall.
J. McNall.
Glassmaker.
1849 Burlington
15
4
53 Smith, Wilkins & Landon
Henry Chiott.
W. B. Frcleigh
1849 Swanton
82
15
5
58 Henry Chiott.
Henry Chiott.
Excelsior
1850 Willshoro, N. Y
87
25
94 M. J. Kiernan.
H. Duple.
Victorine
1850 Essex, N.Y.
78
5
49 William S. Bullock
W. S. Bullock.
Henry Mayo
1851 Burlington
23
8
178 R. & B. R. R. Co.
B. B. Farnham.
E. T. Englesby
1851 Burlington
7
168 R. & B. R. R. Co
M. Eggleston.
John Howard ..
1851 Burlington
110 7 23 174 R. & B. R. R. Co.
E. Anson.
John Jackson
1851 Burlington
80
13 4 44 E. W. Boardman.
John Drake.
Valcour
1861 Willsboro, N. Y.
78
14 4
38 Henry Chiott.
Henry Chiott.
Industry
1853 Essex, N. Y
78
13 5 50 N. Viens
77
13
5 47 H. Washburn
H. Washburn.
Richmond
1858
Essex, N. Y.
86 86
14
5
61 C. R. Hayward
J. Sheldon.
John L. Merriam
Essex, N. Y.
86
14 6 69 L. Barnes & Co
J. Truman.
J. G. Randall ..
1861 Essex, N. Y.
77
13
37 Stannard & Carpenter.
C. M. Field.
Helen
1862 Whitehall, N. Y
87
13
6
St John Tagne.
John Tagne.
O. J. Walker.
1862 Burlingtou
86
14
7 78|J. H. Kirby
J. II. Kirby.
J. G. Witherbee.
1863 Essex, N. Y
84
14
62 A. A. Converse .. 6
J. L. Washburn.
Henry Stantou.
1864 Fort Edward, N. Y.
89
14
6
76 A. W. Snow.
A. W. Snow.
Col. Jones
1864 Colchester
78 85
15
G 68|J. W. & H. W. Brown
N. F. Estey.
Essex
1866 Essex, N. Y
78
15 5 46 . W. Snow
A. W. Snow. John Tagne.
Monoka
1868 Essex, N. Y 1868 Essex, N. Y
86
15
G
63 W. R. Montgomery
W. R. Montgomery.
Orville Binclair. John .
1879 Shelburne
97 94
17 7 113 Willam 8. Bullock.
W. S. Bullock.
Owen Brady
96
17 18
7 99 W. B. Wright ...
J. H. Pike.
John W. Hussey 1882 Orwell
96
7 102 1. P. Lilly.
N. E. Garity
Ellas Lyman.
1884 Orwell
97
18
103 William 8. Bullock
Republic
1885 Champlain, N. Y.
731
16 61 Drew & Conger
W. S. Bullock. E. Laundre.
5
Mike
1847 Ticonderoga, N. Y.
80
13
5
48 Smith, Wilkins & Landen
A. J. Tucker.
Isaac Nye.
1848 Essex .
76
13
1
78 81 85
13
5 43 H. W. Catlin & W. R. Tupper E. S. Rowley.
W. H. Beaman.
Mariner.
1853|Burlington.
B. Gallagher. N. Viens.
Republic
1855 Essex, N. Y
Emma
1858 Whitehall, N. Y
86
6 14 60 Peter Kirby
Peter Kirby.
Trader
1860 Essex, N. Y 1860
Itasca
1851 Essex, N. Y.
86
13 6
65 J. P. Clark .
A. W. Snow.
J. E. Brett
1862 Whitehall, N. Y.
87
14
7
84 William S. Bullock.
W. S. Bullock.
L. A. Hall.
1867 Whitehall, N. Y.
14
5
63 John Tague.
93
17
85 William Fleury
William Fleury.
W. G. Lyon
1873 Fort Aime, N. Y
95
17
7 112 William S. Bullock 6
W. S. Bulleek.
86|C. R. ITay ward
J Sheldon.
W. A. Crombie ..
1881 Fort Anne, N. Y 1882 Orwell
5 18 G5|W B. Cook ..
W. B. Cook.
James Averill.
1864 Champlain, N. Y .. .
14
6 68 L. & A. K. Ballard
John Tague.
Horace Loomis. 1851 Burlington
110 23 8 177 R. & B. R. R. Co
De Clancy Stoughton.
Sea Bird.
1846 Essex, N.Y.
78
13
John Price.
D. A. Smith.
1837 Plattsburgh
77
14
4
7
13
110
109 22
46 E. S. Rowley & J. Simonds
E. S. Rowley.
5
Built.
315
LAKE COMMERCE AND THE LUMBER TRADE.
After Robert Fulton's successful experiment with the first steamboat on the Hudson, in 1807, the people of Burlington set about building a steamboat at Burlington. This was launched in 1808, the second steamboat in the world, and bore the name Vermont. It began navigating the lake in 1809, "just two hundred years after Champlain had entered upon its waters in a bark canoe."1 She was 120 feet long, 20 feet beam, 167 tons burden, had an engine of 20 horse power, procured at Albany, and a speed of four miles an hour. James and John Winans and J. Gough, of Burlington, were the builders, and John Winans, the captain. During the War of 1812 she was run only to Platts- burgh, and occasionally to Champlain, and was engaged for the government in transporting troops and stores. At the close of the war she resumed her trips to St. Johns, and in 1815 had the last of many " break-downs." On the way up from St. Johns the connecting-rod became detached, and working by bell- cranks was forced through the bottom of the boat before the engine could be stopped, and sunk her near Ash Island, a few miles south of the Isle aux Noix, Canada, in October, 1815. The builders took out her engine and boilers and sold them to the Lake Champlain Steamboat Company. On the 12th of March, 1813, this company had received its charter from the State of New York. It was composed of Cornelius P. Van Ness, Moses and Guy Catlin, of Burlington, Amos W. Barnum, of Vergennes, and Tunis Van Vechten, Abram G. Lansing, Isaiah and John Townsend, J. Ellis Winne, Samuel T. Lansing, and Joseph Alexander, of Albany, and several others. It had a capital of $100,000, and was incorporated for the purpose of building and operating steamboats on Lake Champlain. Many years afterward it was consolidated with the Champlain Transportation Company. The Lake Champlain company built the frame of the war vessel Ticonderoga, which MacDonough finished and employed at Plattsburgh. In the same year, 1814, they laid the keel for the ill-starred Phoenix, which was placed under the superintendence of Captain Jehaziel Sherman. The boat began running between Whitehall and St. Johns in 1815. She was 146 feet long, 27 wide, 9} deep, and had a 45-horse power engine, with a 24-inch cylinder, and four-feet stroke, giving her a speed of eight miles an hour. She made regular trips between Whitehall and St. Johns until the 5th of September, 1819, at one o'clock in the morning, when she was destroyed by fire on her passage from Burlington to Plattsburgh.
The next boat built by this company was begun in the winter of 1815-16, at Vergennes, James and John Winans, builders. The engine and boilers of the Vermont were used in her construction. Captain George Brush, her first captain, superintended the work of fitting her out. She was named the Cham- plain. It should be remembered that the boats of that period were far inferior in construction and finish to the elegant steamers that ply the lake to-day. The Champlain was arranged with short guards, flush deck aft, and with no
1 Thomas H. Canfield in Vermont Historical Gazetteer.
316
HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
cabins or covering above the main deck except an awning of canvas. But the company were not satisfied with the slow rate of speed of the new boat (five miles per hour), and during the second winter of its existence they transferred the engine of the Phoenix to her, which increased her speed to six miles an hour. A new engine was then built for the Phoenix, which brought her speed up to eight miles an hour. But the Champlain was doomed to a fate similar to that afterward suffered by the Phoenix. In 1817, the year after she ap- peared on the lake, she was burned to the water's edge while lying at dock in Whitehall, the fire having originated from an imperfection in the arrangement of her boilers. The next boat, the Congress, was built at Vergennes in 1818, by Captain Gorham for Captain Sherman and Amos W. Barnum, of Ver- gennes, Guy Catlin, of Burlington, and Tunis Van Vechten, of Albany, and was propelled by the same engine and boilers that had been transferred to the Champlain from the Phonix. She made her first appearance in 1818, under Captain Daniel Davis, and two years later was sold to the Champlain Steam- boat Company and placed under command of Captain R. W. Sherman. She was the fastest boat on the lake for the first two years, for the reason that she was the only one; but in the summer of 1820 her speed was eclipsed by that of the new boat, the "Second" Phoenix, built at Vergennes in 1820. Under the command of Captain J. Sherman she attained the reputation of being the fastest boat in the world. These two steamers made three trips a week be- tween St. Johns and Whitehall, the fare through being six dollars. She was condemned in 1835. The company had thus far built their boats at Ver- gennes, but the early closing of the Otter Creek by ice, and other incon- veniences of situation, determined them to fix upon a more eligible place. Accordingly, in 1820, C. P. Van Ness and Judge Follett, who had been ap- pointed a committee for the purpose, made choice of Shelburne Harbor, pur- chased several acres of land there and erected the necessary buildings.
On the 18th of November, 1824, the Champlain Ferry Company was in- corporated by act of the Legislature of Vermont, and was organized by the election of Samuel Hickok, Timothy Follett, Philo Doolittle, John Peck and Professor James Dean, as directors, and the appointment of Samuel Hickok, president, and Philo Doolittle, clerk and treasurer. Early in the summer of 1825 they completed and placed upon this ferry the steamer General Green, of 160 tons burden, with a 30-horse power engine, and a speed of eight miles an hour. Captain Dan Lyon, still a respected resident of Burlington, commanded this boat, which made regular trips between Burlington, Port Kent and Platts- burgh until the latter part of 1832. In July, 1833, she was succeeded by the Winooski, and was converted into a sloop. On the 21st of October, 1821, Vermont granted a charter to Charles McNeil, of Charlotte, Vt., and Henry H. Ross, of Essex, N. Y., for a ferry between those points. They built the steamboat Washington in 1827, and finding her too expensive for ferrying, em-
317
LAKE COMMERCE AND THE LUMBER TRADE.
ployed her for a time in towing up the lake toward Whitehall, and on the 9th of March, 1829, sold her to the Champlain Transportation Company, Messrs. Ross and McNeil becoming, in consideration, directors in the Transportation Company. In 1848 the proprietors of the ferry built the steamer Bouquet, named after Bouquet River, which flows through Willsborough, N. Y., but after a few years, owing to the successful competition of the railroads, which made it impossible to sustain her on the ferry, they sold her to parties in Canada.
The St. Albans Steamboat Company was chartered by the State on the 4th of November, 1826, and organized by the election of N. W. Kingman, N. B. Wells, L. L. Dutcher, John Lynde and John Palmer, directors, and the ap- pointment of N. W. Kingman, president, and L. L. Dutcher, clerk. In 1828 they built the steamer Mac Donough, which was commanded by Captain Will- iam Burton. She ran for several years between St. Albans Bay and Platts- burgh, and in January, 1835, was sold to the Champlain Transportation Com- pany, together with the franchise and interests of the St. Albans Steamboat Company.
The next steamboat company incorporated by the State was composed of Ezra Meach, Martin Chittenden, Stephen S. Keyes, Luther Loomis, Roswell Butler, Eleazer H. Deming. The date of the charter was October 26, 1826, and it recited the purpose of the new company, which it called the Champlain Transportation Company, as being to transport "by use of tow-boats, or otherwise, passengers, goods, wares, merchandise, or any other property on Lake Champlain." Their first boat, the Franklin, was completed at St. Albans in the fall of 1827, under the direction of a committee consisting of Luther Loomis, Roswell Butler and Philo Doolittle, Captain Jehaziel Sherman acting as superintendent of construction. She was the most complete and modern of all the boats in construction and arrangements. On the last day in January, 1828, the stockholders of the company met at Burlington and elected the fol- lowing directors : William A. Griswold, Samuel Hickok, Luther Loomis, James Dean, Jehaziel Sherman, Asa Eddy, N. W. Kingman, Lawrence Brainerd and Philo Doolittle. These, with Timothy Follett, George Moore, John Peck, Henry H. Ross, Heman Cady, S. E. Howard and Andrew Thompson, after the board of directors was enlarged, continued to act with little change until about 1846. William A. Griswold, the first president, remained in that office until the year of his death, 1846. The first treasurer continued in the position until his death, January 19, 1862.
The season of 1828 opened with the following steamers on the lake : The Franklin, Washington, Phoenix, and Congress, the General Green between Bur- lington and Plattsburgh, and, during the latter part of the season, the Mac- Donough between Plattsburgh and St. Albans. But there were too many com- peting companies on the lake for the profit of all, and negotiations were begun 21
318
HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
which resulted in the spring of 1835 in the total absorption, by the Champlain Company, of all the business on the lake. They owned every steamboat and were free from opposition. Their first object was to afford the public all the facilities required, notwithstanding the use of as few boats as possible. Cap- tain Sherman was placed in command of the Franklin, and Captain Lyon of the Phoenix, while the Winooski, under Captain Flack, ran the ferry between Burlington and St. Albans. But the unwieldy arrangements of these boats. determined the company to build a new steamer which should combine all the modern improvements, and to refit the Winooski for the purpose of putting her on the line with the Franklin. Henry H. Ross, J. C. Sherman and Philo Doo- little were appointed a committee to present the plan and estimate for the new boat, and Captain R. W. Sherman was appointed to superintend its construction at Shelburne Harbor. Meanwhile Peter Comstock, who was interested in passenger boats on the Champlain Canal, and was a prominent forwarding merchant at Whitehall, caused the company not a little annoyance by laying the keel of a steamboat at Whitehall. They could do nothing better than re- sort to the old method of compromise, however, and therefore, in August, 1835, they purchased the boat from him, and closed an arrangement by which he bound himself not to contribute in any manner to any enterprise which should have a tendency to interfere with the prosperous continuance of the business of the transportation company for a period of eight years. The new boat at Shelburne Harbor, which was called the Burlington, appeared on the lake at the opening of navigation in 1837, under command of Captain R. W. Sherman, and the Whitehall, which was the name of the boat purchased from Comstock, took her place in the following season under charge of Captain Dan Lyon. Both boats were larger and more elegant than any other boats which then was or had been on the lake. In 1841 the Saranac took the place of the Winooski on the ferry.
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