The

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

''Ticonderoga'' is one of two remaining side-paddle-wheel passenger steamers with a vertical beam engine of the type that provided freight and passenger service on America's bays, lakes and rivers from the early 19th to the mid-20th centuries. Commissioned by the Champlain Transportation Company, ''Ticonderoga'' was built in 1906 at the Shelburne Shipyard in

Shelburne, Vermont Shelburne is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located along the shores of Lake Champlain, Shelburne's town center lies approximately south of the city center of Burlington, the largest city in the state of Vermont. As of th ...

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/ Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type ...

. The other is the ''

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

'', built as the ''Ukiah'' for the Northwestern Pacific Railroad in California, renamed after a post-World War I reconstruction, and passed on to NWP owner Southern Pacific in 1942. The ''Eureka'' remained in service until SP's ferries were discontinued in 1958, and it was donated for museum display, where it remains to this day at Aquatic Park in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. Unlike the ''Ticonderoga'' however, the ''Eureka'' is still afloat. ''Ticonderoga'' measures 220 feet in length and 59 feet in beam, with a displacement of 892 tons. Her

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...

, handmade by the Fletcher Engine Company of

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...

, was powered by two coal-fired

boilers A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

and could achieve a maximum speed of (14.77

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...

History

The ship's crew numbered twenty-eight, including the captain, pilots, mate, deckhands, engineers, and firemen to operate the boat. The purser, stewardess, freight clerk, bartender, hall boys, cook, waiters, scullion, and mess boys attended to passengers and freight arrangements. Initially, ''Ticonderoga'' served a north-south route on Lake Champlain. Daily, she docked at

Westport, New York Westport is a town in Essex County, New York, United States overlooking Lake Champlain. The population was 1,312 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern border of the county and is south of Plattsburgh and south of Montreal, Quebec, Cana ...

, where she met the New York City evening train. The next morning she carried travelers and freight northward to

St. Albans, Vermont St. Albans, Vermont may refer to: * St. Albans (town), Vermont, established 1763, a town in Franklin County, Vermont, U.S. *St. Albans (city), Vermont, established 1902, a city in Franklin County, Vermont, U.S. See also * St. Albans Bay, Vermont, ...

. In addition to passengers, ''Ticonderoga'' transported local farm produce, livestock, and dry goods on a regular basis, and during both world wars ferried U.S. troops between

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surroundin ...

and

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. Over the years she also operated on the east-west run from Burlington to

Port Kent, New York Port Kent is a hamlet within the town of Chesterfield, Essex County, New York, United States, on the western shore of Lake Champlain. Its population was last recorded as 217 (141 households). Its ZIP code is 12975. Seasonal ferry service to Bu ...

and had a brief career as a floating casino. When more modern ferries made her obsolete, ''Ticonderoga'' managed to persist in operation as an excursion boat for several years; however, by 1950 the steady decline in business threatened her future. Ralph Nading Hill saved ''Ticonderoga'' from the scrap heap when he persuaded

Electra Havemeyer Webb Electra Havemeyer Webb (August 16, 1888 – November 19, 1960) was a collector of American antiques and founder of the Shelburne Museum. Early life Electra Havemeyer was born on August 16, 1888. She was the youngest child of Henry Osborne Ha ...

to buy her for her growing museum. While the Shelburne Museum attempted to keep her in operation, the steamboat era had passed making it difficult to find qualified personnel to operate and maintain the aging vessel.

Relocation

In 1954 the Shelburne Museum decided to move ''Ticonderoga'' overland to the museum grounds. At the end of the summer season the boat paddled into a newly dug, water-filled basin off Shelburne Bay and floated over a railroad carriage resting on specially laid tracks. The water was then pumped out of the basin, and ''Ticonderoga'' settled onto the railroad carriage. During the winter of 1955 ''Ticonderoga'' was hauled across highways, over a swamp, through woods and fields, and across the tracks of the

Rutland Railway The Rutland Railroad was a railroad in the northeastern United States, located primarily in the state of Vermont but extending into the state of New York at both its northernmost and southernmost ends. After its closure in 1961, parts of the ...

to reach her permanent mooring on the Shelburne Museum grounds. Much of her interior was restored to its original grandeur. The dining room and stateroom halls retain their butternut and cherry paneling and ceilings their gold stenciling. The barbershop, captain's quarters, dining room, and promenade deck contain furniture and accessories used in the ''Ticonderoga'' and other Lake Champlain steamboats. ''Ticonderoga'' was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

in 1964 under the name ''Ticonderoga'' (Side-paddle-wheel Lakeboat). and

Gallery

Ticonderoga (steamboat 1906) plans 01.jpg , Plan of ''Ticonderoga'' Ticonderoga_P_Burlington_05-10-2022.jpg , ''Ticonderoga'' in Shelburne Museum Main stairway of Ticonderoga (1906).jpg , Main stairway 171 Fracht auf dem Vordeck.jpg , Cargo deck A boiler of steamboat Ticonderoga (1906).jpg , One of ''Ticonderoga'' two "turtleback" boilers Engine controls and valve gear of Ticonderoga (1906).jpg , Engine controls and valve gear 170 Modell der Dampfmaschine.jpg , Model of the steam engine

Citations

References

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Ticonderoga
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External links

Shelburne Museum website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ticonderoga (Steamboat) Historic American Engineering Record in Vermont Museum ships in Vermont National Historic Landmarks in Vermont Steamboats of the United States Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Shelburne Museum National Register of Historic Places in Chittenden County, Vermont