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The Wreck of the Steamer-turned-Schooner, Water Witch

map of the vermont area

 

Lake Champlain was one of the earliest American waterways to enjoy the advantages of steam propulsion. The Steamer Vermont began service on the lake in 1809, just two years after Robert Fulton’s successful experiment with a steam-powered ship on the Hudson River. Vermont was followed by many more steamers belonging to various companies and individuals. By the early 1830s competition between steamers on the lake’s waters was growing fierce.


 

To learn more about this wreck see:

Steamboats of Lake Champlain book cover

 

Ogden Ross. The Steamboats of Lake Champlain, 1809 to 1930. With new essays by Arthur Cohn. Reprint of 1930 edition by Vermont Heritage Press, 1997.

Kevin Crisman. "Relics of the Revolution and a Schooner Called Water Witch," The INA Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 4, Winter, 1993.