The Geneva, built in Orillia, was one of the last excursion boats on local lakes

Postcard Memories is a weekly series of historic postcard views and photos submitted by Marcel Rousseau. Some were previously published by the Orillia Museum of Art and History and in the book Postcard Memories Orillia.

This postcard of the steamer, Geneva, was mailed in 1907, two years after it was built.

The Geneva was owned by William Thomson, son of John Thomson who founded the Longford Lumber Company. Named after Geneva Park, the steamer was one of the last of the excursion boats on lakes Simcoe and Couchiching. 

The Geneva was 81 feet long with a 16-foot beam and weighed 92 tons.It was built by Davis Drydock Co. in Orillia, and the engine was manufactured by Bertram Engineering Works of Toronto.

In 1914, it was licensed for 214 passengers. 

As the network of roads expanded around the lakes, the passenger and freight services on the lakes were replaced by the automobile and truck. The Geneva was later sold to the Peterborough and Lake Simcoe Navigation Company and operated until around 1925, the last of the Lake Simcoe and  Lake Couchiching steamers.