''Bluebell'' was a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

built in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada by

Polson Iron Works The Polson Iron Works was an Ontario-based firm which built large steam engines, as well as ships, barges and dredges. Founded by William Polson (1834–1901) and son Franklin Bates Polson, the firm was incorporated in 1886 and it was one of t ...

for the

Toronto Ferry Company The Toronto Ferry Company was formed from the merger of the ''Doty Ferry Company'' with ''A.J. Tymon's Island Ferry Company'', two of Toronto's early ferry operators to Toronto Islands in 1890. TFC was founded and headed by businessman Lol Solman. ...

. She was a steam-powered vessel, propelled by side-wheels. She ferried passengers between the Toronto mainland and the

Toronto Islands The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...

. She was built in 1906, and acquired by the city in 1927 when its contract with the ferry company expired, and remained in service until 1955. She was converted to a scow in 1957, but sank on her first voyage after her relaunch. She was refloated several times before the hull was sunk as part of the

Leslie Spit The Leslie Street Spit, or officially the Outer Harbour East Headland, is a human-made headland in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, extending from the city's east end in a roughly southwesterly direction into Lake Ontario. It is about long. The Spit is ...

. Polson Iron Works finished a

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

to ''Bluebell'', , also named after a flower, which underwent a long restoration after being left to sink, and rot, in a lagoon at the

. PS_Bluebell_(1_of_2).jpg, PS Bluebell as of June 2013 PS_Bluebell_(2_of_2).jpg, PS Bluebell as of June 2013

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news , url = https://torontoist.com/2016/07/now-and-then-trillium-ferry/ , title = The History Behind the Ferry You’ll Take to the Toronto Islands , work =

Torontoist ''Daily Hive'', formerly known as ''Vancity Buzz'', is a Canadian online newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It began digital publishing in 2008 and became Western Canada's largest online-only publication by 2016. In September 2022 ...

, author = Erin Sylvester , date = 2016-07-21 , page = , location = , isbn = , language = , trans-title = , accessdate = 2018-08-11 , quote = According to a 1963 article in the Toronto Star, a brief note in the column “In Town and Out,” the City purchased Bluebell and Trillium to convert them into sewage disposal craft. Bluebell apparently sank on a trial run, before extra floatation devices were attached. {{cite news , url = https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/the-way-we-were-triliums-summertime-memories , title = Trillium summertime memories , work =

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

, author = Mike Filey , date = 2018-06-18 , page = , location = , isbn = , language = , trans-title = , accessdate = 2018-08-11 , quote = As the professional baseball games played by the Toronto Maple Leaf ball team at the Hanlan’s Point stadium continued to draw larger and larger crowds, it soon became obvious that the latter vessel, Bluebell, the largest of the trio, was unable to handle the hoards of Hanlan’s Point-bound fans. {{cite news , url = http://heritagetoronto.org/queen-of-the-fleet/ , title = Queen of the fleet , work =

Heritage Toronto Heritage Toronto is an agency of the Municipal Government of Toronto that works to builds a better city by bringing people together to explore Toronto’s shared past and peoples’ lived experiences. It is located in St. Lawrence Hall in the city. ...

, author = Mike Filey , date = 2010-06-08 , page = , location = , isbn = , language = , trans-title = , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20180621034347/http://heritagetoronto.org/queen-of-the-fleet/ , archivedate = 2018-06-21 , accessdate = 2018-08-11 , url-status = dead , quote = {{cite news , url = http://spacing.ca/toronto/2009/06/18/throwback-thursday-travelling-back-in-time-on-board-the-trillium/ , title = Throwback Thursday: Travelling back in time on board the Trillium , work =

Spacing magazine ''Spacing'' is a magazine published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Focusing on issues affecting the public realm in Toronto and nationally (four issues each per year), ''Spacing'' was originally published by the Toronto Public Space Committee in h ...

, author = Jake Schabas , date = 2009-06-18 , page = , location = , isbn = , language = , trans-title = , accessdate = 2018-08-11 , quote = Built by Polson Iron Works Limited, the $75,000 Trillium was an exact replica of her sister ship, the Bluebell, built four years earlier. The largest of the four “flower ferries,” the Trillium was named the flower of Ontario and had an original passenger capacity of 1450. {{cite news , url = https://www.blogto.com/city/2013/01/the_nautical_adventures_of_the_trillium_ferry_in_toronto/ , title = The nautical adventures of the Trillium ferry in Toronto , work =

Blog TO A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

, author = Chris Bateman , date = 2013 , page = , location = , isbn = , language = , trans-title = , accessdate = 2018-08-11 , quote = The TTC took over ferry operations from the city in 1927, bringing the Trillium and its sister ships the Bluebell, Mayflower, Primrose, Jasmine, John Hanlan, Clark Bros., and Luella into the company that operated busses and streetcars in the city. Bluebell 1906 ships