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7 - The End of an Era

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Last of the riverboats
1940
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

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Before 1920 many farmers depended on the steamers to get their produce to the markets in Fredericton and Saint John. Many of these small, farm-produce trading communities had not been reached by the railways. Not until 1920 did shipping on the St. John River face direct competition for the trade of these communities from the valley railway or paved highways.

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Docking
1910
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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Within 26 years, however, the steady competition from the railway and later that of paved all-weather highways had destroyed the river trade for good. By the late 1940's, the river valley was empty of any regular scheduled riverboat service.

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The River and the railway
1930

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The fate of the last riverboat on the St. John River, the MV D.J. Purdy 1 sadly illustrates the nondescript end of the river trade in the 1940's.

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D.J. Purdy 1 and cars
1930
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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The D.J. Purdy 1 owned by Eastern Canada Steamships Company was prevented from renewing her operating license after the 1946 season by the Canadian Coast Guard. Ten years and more of poor maintenance and lack of replacement parts meant that her engines were no longer in condition to continue service.

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Retirement
1946
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

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The D.J. Purdy 1 ended up as a dance hall at Gondola Point, near Saint John, and was burned in September, 1948 at her moorings located right next to the highway leading to Saint John.

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Lady Latour
1950
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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In July, 1951 a last attempt to revive traffic depending mainly on tourist and excursion business failed to make much of a profit.

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Wreck of the Lady Latour
1951
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada