In the mid-19th century, a young farmer named Elisha Visger looked out upon the Saint Lawrence River and saw an untapped resource. Enamored with the beauty of the region, Visger set out to map all the islands, and to give people the opportunity to see them as never before, from the water. Visger purchased a boat and invited people to board it for no other reason than to circle the 1000 islands and come back to port again. It was the Cygnet, American's first tour boat.
The Cygnet seems miniscule by today's standards, but it's fifty-passenger capacity and wood-fired steam engine gave birth to a new industry and brought prosperity to Alexandria Bay. The year was 1874. The magnificent summer "cottages" were not yet constructed so the nature of touring was simple, but Captain Visger'sCygnet was a sensation.
By 1879, Visger launched a second tour boat, The Wanderer, and by 1888 at the age of 57, he began The Alexandria Bay Steamboat Company. Visger's son Harmonius took charge of the Cygnet, wife Lavina and daughters Catherine July and Ella enjoyed the proper life of society ladies in this home on Church Street.
Captain Visger died at home of natural causes in 1903. His descendants now live thoughout the country. I am honored to have been contacted by one of them upon learning of our humble B & B.
Captain Elisha Visger
The Cygnet, purchased 1874
Harmonius Visger eventually piloted The Cygnet
Advertisement, circa 1880
Elisha and Lavina Visger. Go ahead and smile! You won't crack. Promise.
A tour cost fifty-cents, a tidy sum in the 1880s.
The thriving tour boat industry of today owes a debt of gratitude to Elisha Visger who had the vision, the courage and the capital to create a wonderous experience on the water. An Alexandria Bay publication showed it's appreciation of it's famous citizen with the following entry in 1894:
"Captain Visger is now in his 63rd year, as young as at 35, and in many respects a remarkably well preserved man, one of the pioneers in steamboating, a man respected by everybody and looked up to as one of those who originated these excursion routes which have proved such an attraction to visitors".
