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2 - The First Steamboat

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The first steamboat on the St. John River was the General Smythe, which was built in 1816, and named after New Brunswick's second Imperial Governor. The 105-foot boat was only the fourth steam boat ever built in British North America, and it was received by the local population with much pride and amazement. Traveling at an average speed of five miles an hour, the General Smythe could sail between Fredericton and Saint John in fifteen hours, and carry up to sixty passengers. It remained in service until 1824, when the hull was deemed unsound.

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General Smythe
1816
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada