Unveiling the Emily May
Submitted by Kathryn on
Have you heard about the Emily May? It was once the largest paddle steamship on Lake Simcoe.
Built in 1861 in Belle Ewart by Issac May and named for his daughter, the Emily May had a 21 year career in both passenger and freight business. As the railroad became a more prominent means of transportation the ship was renamed Lady of the Lake and became purely a pleasure craft, ferrying tourists and revelers around our beautiful Lake Simcoe. The Emily May was abandoned in 1883 off the coast of Belle Ewart. Eventually it was burned and the remains are still in Lake Simcoe.
The Innisfil Historical Society celebrated the unveiling of a scale model of the amazing ship in its new home at Innisfil Town Hall. The model was built by Don Houghton over a period of 12 years and representing 3500 hours of labour! Marj Mossman and Donna Wice of the Innisfil Historical Society spoke of the work it took to bring us to the grand unveiling and the storied history of the Emily May.
You can visit the beautiful model at Innisfil Town Hall. If you would like to learn more about the Emily May and Innisfil's history visit Our Stories Innisfil. Our Stories is a joint project between Innisfil Public Library, Innisfil Historical Society and the Rotary Club of Innisfil to capture Innisfil's rich community memory.