From Early Stories to Today · Drawing 18
The steamship
1809
In 1809, the first steamship travelled on the St. Lawrence. Its engine turned paddle wheels to move the boat forward.
Look together
Can you find the big paddle wheel?
An idea to try
Place the schooner and steamship drawings side by side. Your child names two similarities and points out what helps each boat move.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Launched in 1809, the Accommodation was the first mechanically propelled boat to sail on the St. Lawrence, according to the heritage record. Its first trip to Québec City took place in November that year. This date concerns a particular boat and waterway, not the worldwide invention of steam navigation.
The scene allows a comparison between two ways of travelling on the river. Sails use wind, whereas this illustrated boat has an engine and paddle wheels. Find what changes between the images and what stays similar. The ship is an educational interpretation, not an exact reconstruction of the Accommodation.
Sources and context
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. Source titles appear in their original language; some linked pages are in French.
Source review: 2026-09-12. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.