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The grand age of steamboats on Keuka Lake began in 1835 and was vital to the development of the region. The boats carried excursionists--Victorian tourists--to the resorts and cottages that lined the lakeshore. The communities of Penn Yan, Hammondsport and Branchport that anchor the three branches of the Y-shaped lake flourished. This prosperity helped grow the area's grape and wine production that is so celebrated today. Though the last steamboats were taken out of service in 1915, the romance and nostalgia of the period are preserved in tales of glamorous steamers, the people who worked and traveled on them, the resorts they served and the history they made. Local historians Richard MacAlpine and Charles Mitchell capture the stories, anecdotes and photos from this bygone period.
About the author
Richard MacAlpine is a member of the board of directors of the Yates County Genealogical and Historical Society. He is the editor of and writer for Yates Past. He has also been published in Life in the Finger Lakes magazine. He is a retired high school teacher in the Oneida school district. He also writes a weekly column in Penn Yan's Chronicle Express for the Civil War Sesquicentennial committee, and a bimonthly local history column for Finger Lakes Times. Charles R. Mitchell worked at Corning Inc. for eighteen years. He bought the photographic center in Penn Yan, and began volunteering at the Oliver House Museum, organizing the photo archives, then became curator, a position he has held for twelve years. During that time, he has scanned and digitally enhanced over six thousand images and authored three books and co-authored seven others in Arcadia's Images of America series. His program on Keuka Lake Steamboats has been presented to many audiences over the years.
