The St. Lawrence Steamer  
Excerpts from Centennial History of Jefferson County, N.Y. by John A. Haddock, 1894
  Shipbuilding began at Clayton in 1832, by Smith & Merick, sometimes giving employment to as many as 100 men.  From two to four vessels have been built here annually, making a total of from 75 to 100, including most of the splendid steamers of the old Ontario and St. Lawrence Steamboat Company's lines.  This business began here at about the time the burthensome tonnage duties upon the lakes (amounting almost to a prohibition) had been removed in part by Hon. Joseph Hawkins, of Henderson, who represented this district in Congress.  From this time there existed no limit to the size of the vessels but that of the locks of the Welland Canal.  
  John Oades commenced building for E. G, Merick & Co. and Fowler & Esselstyn in 1841.  Mr. Johnson is the only one now engaged in shipbuilding at Clayton, Messrs. John Oades and Fowler & Esselstyn having removed to Detroit, Mich.   During the last few years Mr. Johnson has built several steam yachts. 
  The huge steamers built at Clayton by Messre. Merick & Fowler, under the direction of Mr. John Oades, were the finest ever seen upon the inland waters of America.  These steamers ran between Lewiston and Ogdensburg, in what was called the express line, and was popular and well patronized.  The construction of railroads upon both sides of the river, however, drew away the traffic upon which these boats had depended, and after a while they were discontinued and their routes abandoned.  The fate of some of them is to the writer unknown.  The New York, one of the largest of these boats, a fine side-wheeler, and the Bay State, he thinks, he saw lying in thc Potomac, below Washington, in 1863, they being under charter to the government.  Their transportation down the rapids of the St. Lawrence must have been a hazardous business, and when once upon the lower river they had a long sea voyage before them, through the Gut of Cansu, almost in sight of Newfoundland, out upon the open ocean to Boston, and so along the coast, exposed to the winds of the dangerous capes of the Delaware.  
  The firm of Folger Bros. are justly regarded as an important factor in the growing business of the St. Lawrence river, and especially so among the Thousand Islands.  We are glad to say that, although they have long been prominently connected with the business growth of Kingston, they are yet Jefferson county boys, born and reared in Cape Vincent.  They took to the great river as naturally as ducks do to water, and are successful, pushing business men, showing their capacity in the character of the boats they own, which are all run by picked crews - - men who know how to treat the great mass of summer tourists and island residents who yearly congregate among these historic and beautiful islands.  
  Only a few years ago the route among the Thousand Islands was run by a small boat carrying only 20 passengers, now it is one of the finest services on the inland waters of the country, performed by the steamer St. Lawrence, allowed to carry about 900 passengers, the Islander, smaller, but very popular, and the steamer Empire State, allowed to carry 1,000 people, besides several small steamers.  
The St. Lawrence
  These boats have a wide reputation for cleanliness and management, and have carried millions of people and never wet a foot nor harmed a hair.  The season really consists of only about 40 days work, and every energy is required to make it a success, but the splendid service of the New York Central Railroad and the Thousand Island Steamboat Company is rapidly developing the business, which promises to increase rapidly each year - - for the season of 1894, a period of great financial depression, has fully demonstrated, by the large crowds of visitors, that these islands are not neglected or overlooked by the American people.  They have only to be seen to be appreciated.  
  The writer saw at one time last season over 1,000 people standing upon the dock at Clayton one afternoon, waiting patiently for their baggage to be transferred to the boats.  The Islander took a part, and the St. Lawrence the remainder, and in half an hour not a single passenger could be seen.  Fully one-half of these people landed at Thousand Island Park, and a large majority of the balance sought Alexandria Bay, where two mammoth hotels, the Crossmen and the Thousand Island House, quickly swallowed them up.  
  There was one remarkable feature of the season of 1894.  There were immense crowds at different times, but the average duration of the stay was quite limited - - showing want of capital.  The steamboat service of the Folgers is as good as that upon the Hudson and upon the Sound, acknowledged to be the best in the world.  These steamers are grandly supplemented by the service upon the New York Central Railroad.  Palace cars bring the passenger right to the wharf, and the steamers are "only 20 feet away."  
John A. Haddock, 1894 - Centennial History of Jefferson County, N.Y.